It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Lanie Whittaker of Booker T. Washington (Miami) was supposed to win her second straight state title in the 400 meters and her third consecutive crown in both the 800 and 4x400 relay. After making her mark on the world stage last summer, she was supposed to represent as one of the nation's best runners.
This story you're reading? It was supposed to detail Whittaker's triumphs in her final high school season. But none of that is going to happen now. That train left the station once she was diagnosed with patellar tendonitis in her right knee, forcing her to miss almost her entire senior season.
Her doctor prescribed rest and rehab -- about all you can really do with such an injury -- but at that moment the pain was no longer in her knee.
"I started crying," Whittaker says. "I knew this was a big year."
To put this year in proper perspective, to understand how big it was supposed to be, you first have to know a little bit about what transpired last year.
On May 2, 2008, Whittaker registered one of the most impressive track and field displays in state history. That morning, Whittaker captured the Class 3A state title in the long jump, an event in which she was seeded ninth. She leapt 18 feet, 6.5 inches, a personal best and nearly a foot farther than her qualifying mark. She had finished 12th at the state meet in 2007 with a 16-8.
"I didn't think I was going to jump no [18-6.5]," Whittaker concedes.
A few hours after her surprise long jump showing, Whittaker won the 400 prelims in a blazing time of 53.83. (This was far less of a surprise, as she'd entered the meet as the top seed.) A couple hours after that, she won the 400 finals, beating her next-closest competitor by nearly two seconds.
She didn't have much time to enjoy the victory; in 10 minutes, she was scheduled to run the grueling 800.
Whittaker and then-coach Rebecca Maurin, now the boys' track coach at Evans (Orlando, Fla.), had done their research. All season they had planned for this possibility, even simulating the brief rest Whittaker would have between the events.
"We really timed it out and made sure she was used to the pace of the meet," Maurin says.
But a simulation and the real deal are two very different things. Whittaker ultimately had what Maurin estimates was no more than three minutes to switch shoes and rest before making her way to the starting line for the 800. She was exhausted.
"I honestly thought I was going to come in fourth," Whittaker says. "I was already tired. I just went all out."
As planned, she stayed with the pack until the final 150 meters, when she outkicked the competition to take home her second consecutive state title in the event.
Lanie Whittaker Favorites
- TV Show: "The Game"
- Movie: "Love & Basketball"
- Musical Artists: T.I. & Lil Wayne
- Sneaker: Jordans
"Coming off of a 400, then to do an eight definitely takes a lot of mental power, a lot of strength," says first-year Booker T. coach Wyllesheia Myrick. "It's a hard combo, especially in high school."
Oh, but she wasn't done yet. Whittaker then anchored the 4x400 relay team to its second straight title. Including the relay win, she accounted for 40 of Booker T.'s 46 points, leading the Tornadoes to a third-place team finish.
And did we mention it was her birthday?
"The last time I stood on the podium, for the 4x400, I started crying," Whittaker says, talking about a very different brand of tears than the ones she experienced this spring. "It was just an excited moment, a great feeling."
Over the summer, Whittaker did something arguably even more impressive, placing second at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Ohio and qualifying as one of the youngest members of the U.S. team that competed at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland.
Pretty soon, the college coaches came calling. According to Maurin, Whittaker had flown under the radar until her performance at the Junior Outdoors. Almost immediately, the top programs in the country were vying for her services, and Whittaker eventually settled on the University of Florida.
All of that set the stage for this year. South Florida boasts some of the nation's top runners in virtually every event this spring. At press time, Southridge junior Ebony Eutsey and Jackson freshman Robin Reynolds had posted two of the nation's top six times in both the 200 and 400. In the 800, senior Skyler Wallen of Northwestern held the nation's top time. Whittaker was supposed to be right there with them.
"We motivate each other because we're all friends," she says. "We're just cool like that."
Despite her disappointment, Whittaker has turned the page, focusing on running summer track and preparing for Florida. She's had some help from boyfriend Eduardo Clements, a junior at Booker T. and a top track athlete in his own right who skipped this season to focus on training for football. He'll enter this fall as one of the most highly touted senior running backs in the nation. Naturally laid-back, Clements says Whittaker has driven him to work harder and press on, and he has tried to return the favor.
"I know she's very disappointed with the injury, but I told her that's life and you have to deal with it," Clements says. "That's what's going to happen when you run."
"She's learned to overcome the adversity," adds Maurin, who points out that Whittaker came to this country from Honduras as a 4-year-old and hasn't always had it easy. "I think she's taken the injury in stride. It's almost kind of better that it happened now instead of her freshman year in college."
For Whittaker -- who won six state titles and holds school records in everything from the 200 to the mile, from cross country to the long jump -- there wasn't much left to prove anyway.
Lucas O'Neill covers high school sports for ESPN RISE Magazine.
