PHILADELPHIA -- After winning the Championship of America girls mile presented by On at the Penn Relays on Thursday, Juliette Whittaker came back on Friday to challenge herself in a bigger task: The Olympic Development women's 800m.
Whittaker, who was running unattached, was the only high schooler in the field.
But she more than held her own.
When the gun went off, the Stanford signee settled in the fifth position for the first 400m and came through in 59.29. In the second half of the race, she migrated through the pack to come up second behind On Athletics Club's Sage Hurta, the eventual winner.
Whittaker crossed the finish line in Franklin Field in second with a 2:01.55, which was four-tenths of a second off her lifetime best. Hurta won in 1:59.76.
Her performance is the fastest time in the nation so far this season; this was also the fastest 800m opener of her career.
Photo Credit: Kyle Brazeil/MileSplit