Reitz High School Paints the ‘R’ Gold in Honor of Lilly King [PHOTO]
Evansville native, Lilly King is officially an Olympic Gold Medalist, and her alma mater, Reitz High School, has shown its pride in her accomplishment by painting their iconic 'R' on the hill facing Ray Becker Parkway the same color as her newest piece of hardware.
Former Evansville Courier and Press reporter, and current Reitz English and Journalism teacher, Cole Claybourn, shared a photo of the 'R's new Olympic-themed look on his Twitter account Monday —
I saw it Monday evening while on the west side and decided to get a photo myself (that's my truck parked at the top).
The buckets around each letter are filled with sand and small candles. Whether someone takes the time to light those candles each evening is unknown, but based on a photo on the Reitz Panthers' Facebook page, they've been lit at least once.
What's also difficult to see from either picture is the rest of the message spray painted on the side of the hill. Underneath "Rio" reads, "Go Lilly" in large white letters, while the Olympic Ring logo sits to the right. You can check out the full view on the Reitz Panthers' Facebook page.
Lilly will look to add to her Olympic medal collection on Tuesday when she competes in the 200 Meter Breaststroke preliminaries, followed by the semifinals, and hopefully a trip to that event's finals on Wednesday.