Junior sprinter Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.) has been named the Southeastern Conference Co-Women's Runner of the Week for her phenomenal performances at the 68th Annual Pepsi Florida Relays this past weekend, the league offices in Birmingham, Ala. announced Tuesday. (via www.gatorzone.com)
The Louie Bing Classic is always a star studded affair for the short stuff and the jumps and that's basically because Miami teams typically dominate these events and all the big guns come out for it. This year was no exception and our leaderboard of a week's worth of state rankings was completely rewritten by this meet for just about every event 800 meters and shorter, boys and girls.
Last year's much lauded middle school sensation Robin Reynolds officially became a freshman phenom, opening her high school career with Miami Jackson. She earned three golds and a bronze in the two-day meet.
The final day of the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships came and went Sunday, as Team USA wrapped up a successful week. Two prep athletes stood out amongst the crowd during the final day. Hurdle sensation Booker Nunley (pictured left by Joy Kamani of NationalScholastic.org) showed his strength and speed, capturing a silver medal in the men's 110m hurdles. Meanwhile, Jordan Hasay continued her post-season success by placing fourth in the women's 1,500m. Read what else took place on the final day.
Jim Spier Blog (NSSF) / Joy Kamani Photo Gallery (NSSF)
Official Website / Day Six Results
World Junior Sunday Highlights
- Booker Nunley (NC) earns silver in men's 110m hurdles, 13.45
- Jordan Hasay (CA) fourth in women's 1,500m run final, 4:19.02
- Anna Jelmini (CA) earns a ninth place finish in women's discus
- Lanie Whittaker (FL) & Erica Alexander (TX) guide 4x4 to victory
What an exciting day the third day of the IAAF World Junior T&F Championships were. Team USA impressed across the board, including the six preps that took part in Thursday's action. Leading the way on the women's side was Florida junior Lanie Whittaker(pictured right by Joy Kamani of NationalScholastic.org), placing seventh in the women's 400m dash final. On the men's side, California junior Conor McCullough topped his group in the men's hammer throw and heads into the final with the third best mark. Prep stars Shanay Briscoe (TX), Christian Taylor (GA), Vashti Thomas (CA) and Ashton Purvis (CA) also competed.
**USATF Summaries: AM / Jim Spier Blog (NSSF)
**Joy Kamani Photo Gallery (NSSF) / Official Website
World Junior Thursday Highlights
- Lanie Whittaker (FL) seventh in women's 400m final, 53.98
- Conor McCullough (CA) throws 238-11 in men's hammer throw prelim
- Shanay Briscoe (TX) leaps 5-10 to finish tenth in women's high jump
- Christian Taylor (GA) advances in men's triple jump with 51-05 leap
Lanie Whittaker, a rising senior at Miami Washington, is the lone Florida high schooler competing at World Junior Nationals in Poland. Qualifying for the finals against the best junior athlete in the world, she finished seventh with a time of 53.98.
She has one last event to compete in before her Eurpoean adventure is complete. She will be running along side her teammates in the 4x400 Meter Relay in their quest for the gold.
Our national portal, MileSplit US, has been keeping up with all of the American high schoolers competing at World Juniors.
Photo by Joy Kamani of NSSF
On day two of the IAAF World Junior T&F Championships, Team USA followed the lead of junior Marquise Goodwin (Rowlett, TX) (pictured left by Joy Kamani of NationalScholastic.org), who won the men's long jump with a mark of 25-04.75. Goodwin dominated his competition, setting his top mark of the first attempt of the day. Elsewhere, Leslie Brost (SD) and Rachel Laurent (LA) qualified for the women's pole vault final, while Christian Taylor (GA) placed seventh in the men's long jump in 24-03.75, and Lanie Whittaker (FL) advanced to the women's 400m dash final with a 53.61 performance.
**USATF Summaries: AM - PM / Jim Spier Blog (NSSF)
**Joy Kamani Photo Gallery (NSSF) / Official Website
World Junior Day Two Highlights
- Marquise Goodwin (TX) wins men's long jump final in 25-04.75
- Christian Taylor (GA) places seventh in men's LJ final in 24-03.75
- Rachel Laurent (LA) & Leslie Brost (SD) qualify for women's PV final
- Lanie Whittaker (FL) earns spot in women's 400m final in 53.61
- Donn Cabral (CT) runs 30:47.55 in men's 10,000m final, finished 17th
Lanie Whittaker qualified through the 400 meter semi-finals today at the World Junior Championship in Poland. Her time of 53.61 puts her through to the finals tomorrow (Thursday, July 10). She will face some tough competition, going against the best junior runners in the world, and enters the finals as the seventh seed. She is one of two Americans in the finals, USA teammate Jessica Beard of Texas A&M is the second seed going into the finals.
Lanie is also the youngest athlete in the finals. Most of the other athletes are college-aged and around two years older than the Miami Washington rising senior. Good luck, Lanie!
Lanie Whittaker, a rising senior at Booker T. Washington HS in Miami, was the lone Florida high school competitor at USATF Junior Nationals to qualify for the finals in Columbus, Ohio this weekend. And she came through big! She ran a new personal best of 53.25 in the 400 meter dash. That second place finish qualifies her to compete for Team USA at World Juniors in Poland next month.
Along with Lanie, several Florida collegiate atheltes competed and fared well. Those included Wharton alumni Teona Rodgers (100H), Daisy Glasser (PV), Terrell Wilks (100m, 200m), Kamoreon Hayes (SP), Jarius Cooper (110H), Mario Ariet (JT), and Ali Crabb (5000m).
MileSplit US On-Site Coverage | Results | Florida Finalists
Ebony Eutsey and Lanie Whittaker sure made us proud last night at the Golden West Invitational in California. The two Miami girls went 1-2 in the Girls 400m, easily beating out the competition with times of 53.23 and 53.43. The times are personal bests for both girls and Ebony's time puts her as #1 fastest time in the nation this year. Lanie's time puts her at US #5 this year.
Riley Egan of St. Thomas Aquinas also shined brightly, finishing in second place with a vault of 16-2.75. That is his sixth time of over 16 feet this year, but short of his PR and the state meet record of 16-7 that he set last month. Riley's teammate Cody Riggs had a fine showing in two events with a 38.32 (5th) in the 300H and a long jump of 23--5.75 (4th).
Derrick Hopkins had an absolutely huge time of 10.25, which earned him 4th place on the night and the 2nd fastest time for a Floridian in the event this year. This one will have a star by it though because the wind was above the legal limit. That wind helped propel Georgian D'Angello Cherry to a 10.16! Freshman Dedric Dukes was the final Florida finisher with a fourth place time of 48.25 in the 400 meters.
Soon-to-be football player Connor Revord was a DNF in the 2 Mile.
Complete Results
