Whitaker swept both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles to claim his first GMC titles and finished three-quarters of a point behind Lakota East junior Dustin Horter in the competition for GMC Runner of the Year. Horter repeated as champion in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs and was on the sixth-place 3,200-meter relay team.
Helped by Whitaker’s 20 individual points, West earned the area’s top team score, finishing third behind Mason and Sycamore.
“I came in with times that were faster than everyone else, but in prelims I didn’t do my best, so I was fifth and third going into finals,” Whitaker said. “I knew I couldn’t take it easier just because I thought I was faster than everybody, so I had to really give it my all.”
Whitaker shattered his personal-best time and own school record of 40.06 seconds in the 300 hurdles, clocking a time of 38.86. His 110 hurdle time of 14.93 seconds was an improvement of 0.07 seconds and put him in first ahead of teammate Brandon Gillis, who also place third in the 300 hurdles.
Last year, Whitaker was fifth in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 110 hurdles.
“I worked hard and it paid off,” Whitaker said. “I just learned when you think you’re done and think you’re tired and you’ve still got a little bit in your tank, you know you can push yourself harder and push yourself faster. I really wanted to reach my full potential this year, and I think I have.”
Horter has been more accustomed to winning and has done so with ease in GMC events the past three years. On Friday, he broke Middletown graduate Jeff See’s GMC championship record in the 1,600 by almost four seconds, winning for a third straight year with a time of 4:07.52, which was more than 11 seconds better than Middie senior Conant Smith.
Smith also finished behind Horter in the 800 as Horter won for a second straight year with a time of 1:54.56.
East also produced one of the top point-getters in the girls running events Friday as freshman Serena Clark was a double-winner in the 100 and 200 dashes and tied with Mason distance runner Ellie Brush for GMC Runner of the Year.
Clark, who helped the Hawks to a runner-up finish overall, beat teammate Kaylyn Heath by 0.01 seconds for the 100 title, winning in 12.23 seconds.
The two teammates were close with each other coming around the bend in the 200 before Heath went down with an injury, but Clark continued on for a winning time of 25.65. Heath had been seeded first in the 100, and Clark was the top seed in the 200.
“She pushes me, especially in the 100, and even though she’s my teammate, I still want to come get her since she’s older than me,” Clark said. “It pushes me farther. We’re good teammates, but the competition has to come.
“I expected her to beat me, but I pushed myself to come get her after she beat me out of the blocks. My finish is the stronger part of my race, and her start is the stronger part of hers. It turned out to be a good win for me.”
Fairfield juniors Tyra Kennedy and Monica Johnson also were among the area’s top finishers Friday. Kennedy was second in the long jump and third in the 100 hurdles, and Johnson took first in the 100 hurdles for a second straight year and fourth in long jump. Both were on the winning 400 relay, along with Nina Ward and Kyla Ellery, and on the second-place 800 relay.
“After doing the long jump, I was already loose, so that made a difference (in the hurdles),” Johnson said. “I came in expecting to win. I was just confident. I knew I could do a 17 (in long jump), but I wasn’t hitting the board. If I would have hit the board, I would have gotten a better place. It was a good day overall.”
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