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Whittell sprinters bring home track, field state championships

Whittell's Anna White stands atop the podium this past weekend at the state meet. The junior won two sprint events, the 200- and 400-meter runs.
Provided / Emily Mildner

Whittell junior Anna White hates the 400-meter run. She dreads it all day knowing she is going to be sprinting a half of a lap as fast as possible.

“To be totally honest, it’s probably the worst minute of my life every time I run it,” White said. “It’s a tough minute.”

But she sure is fast. She runs it faster than any other competitor in her division. And has for two years.



White won the 400 for the second straight year and also took first in her preferred event, the 200, Friday, May 18, at the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Class 1A Track and Field Championships at Carson High School in Carson City.

“It really was rewarding after all the hard work it took to get there. Coach (Emily) Hunter has really helped and that was much-appreciated and much-needed.”— Anna White,Whittell junior

“It took awhile for me to get there after having a knee injury during soccer in the fall,” White said. “Finally getting to state. It really was rewarding after all the hard work it took to get there. Coach (Emily) Hunter has really helped and that was much-appreciated and much-needed.”



White topped the field of eight runners by a half second in the 200-meter run and set a season best in claiming the 400 (1:02.27) by over one second.

White took first place in every 200 and 400 race she competed in this year, except one. Her sophomore teammate Kyla Rippett was the one to beat her in the 200 at the Lake Tahoe Meet. White, in the next meet two weeks later, set her personal best by almost 2 seconds to qualify for state.

Whittell had the two fastest athletes at the meet with Rippett, a sophomore, winning the 100-meter dash.

She won by the slimmest or margins, .02 seconds. Rippett’s time was 13.71.

The girls helped the Warriors score 30 points and finish eighth overall out of 17 scoring teams. Whittell was just 11 points behind fourth place and well behind the top three teams that dominated the meet, Wells (148), Sierra Lutheran (128) and Tonopah (111).

Whittell boys’ 4×800 relay team of Jarvis Humlick, Samuel Rusk, Aiden Rippett and Ben Harrison ran to a seventh-place finish to earn a couple of points.

White was thrilled the meet was within driving distance for her supporters to come and watch.

“A lot of my friends came down and supported me and I got to go home right after with my parents and celebrate,” White said. “It was really cool for me.”


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