Calumet High School’s Lila Winegeart
For Calumet High School junior Lila Winegeart, there is no such thing as an offseason. A multi-sport standout and utility player for the Chieftains softball team, Winegeart has built a reputation on hustle, versatility and a genuine love for competing with her friends.
Winegeart, an 11th grader, fills her days with fastpitch, basketball, softball and track, leaving little downtime but plenty of opportunity to grow as an athlete. “What free time?” she said. “Multi-sport athletes don’t get much free time. I play fastpitch, basketball, softball and track.” That demanding schedule has helped shape her mindset on and off the field, teaching her how to respond when things do not go her way.
“Life doesn’t always go your way, and sports will definitely prepare you for that,” Winegeart said. “How to keep your head up even if you lose.” That perspective shows up in the way she approaches every inning, every practice and every sprint, whether she is tracking down a ball from the outfield or digging in at the plate.
On the softball diamond, Winegeart’s role as a utility player means she can be plugged in almost anywhere her coaches need her. The toughest part of that, she said, is staying ready and locked in for every situation the game might throw at her. At the plate, her routine is simple and focused: “Stretch my legs and get ready to run bases,” she said. It fits her favorite unwritten rule of the game—one she tries to live out every time she steps between the lines.
“Run out everything,” Winegeart said. “Always be hustling.” That mindset often shows up in the dirt on her uniform by the final out. When asked who usually has the dirtiest jersey after games, she did not hesitate. “Me or Breck Bowers,” she said.
Winegeart’s competitive drive is influenced heavily by her personal track coach, Jay Miller, whom she cites as her biggest inspiration. “Because he is always so positive and has a great outlook on life,” she said. That positivity mirrors the energy she brings to Calumet’s athletic programs, where the Chieftains have become a fixture on the small-school sports scene in Oklahoma.
In the classroom, Winegeart’s passion is history, especially in Mr. Cooper’s class. She said she enjoys it so much that she looks up extra facts on TikTok about the topics they cover. It is another example of how she leans fully into whatever she is doing, whether it is a lesson about the past or a late-inning at-bat.
What Winegeart values most, though, is the bond she shares with her teammates. “How we all want to help each other be better and how silly and fun we can be,” she said. She points to teammates like Breck Bowers as the most vocal presence on the field and Hayden Mayfield as the one who keeps everyone laughing. That mix of accountability and humor helps fuel a tight-knit Calumet squad that embraces the grind together.
Whether she is sprinting out a ground ball, sliding into a base or lining up for her next track workout, Winegeart embodies the all-gas-no-brakes attitude she believes every softball player should have. For Calumet, having a multi-sport junior who refuses to slow down is exactly the kind of spark a small-school program counts on.
