* Whittaker at the Penn Relays in the girls COA mile
Photo Credit: Don Rich/MileSplit
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Juliette Whittaker made history on Friday night in New York City, too.
The Mount De Sales (MD) senior ripped off the second sub-2 minute 800m performance in high school history at the Trials of Miles: Track Night NYC women's A section, hitting 1:59.80 on the clock to win the women's professional heat outright.
The performance is currently the 10th-best in the world for the 2022 season.
"I just wanted to give it everything I got," said Whittaker, who reached the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials in the women's 800m at the age of 17 a year ago. "I just did not want to finish and feel regret thinking I could do more."
Whittaker now only trails Mary Cain, who ran 1:59.51 in 2013 at the Prefontaine Classic. Coincidentally, Cain was also in the stands on Friday night at Icahn Stadium.
Whittaker put herself in the hunt from the very beginning, working through the middle of the pack and hitting the first 400m in 57.90 before surging ahead in the final 200 meters at just under 1:30.
The time followed her opener of 2:01.55, which she accomplished in a women's field at the Penn Relays in April. Her previous outdoor best was a time of 2:01.15 from 2021, while she ran 2:01.21 and 2:01.30 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
The Stanford recruit had more than an ounce of resolve in those final moments, clocking the first sub-2 of her career.
Moses Brown junior Sophia Gorriaran ran a massive outdoor personal best, too, hitting 2:00.65. That time was a shade behind her indoor best of 2:00.58.
Gorriaran also reached the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, becoming the youngest competitor in history at the age of 15 -- she was just a month out from her birthday, making her eligible.
