HS TRACK: Lees Whitehill an explosive shot put thrower – Midland Reporter-Telegram

Lee junior Garrett Whitehill is a powerful athlete.

The 6-foot, 245-pound offensive guard claimed the Rebels offensive lines pancake award each week, with the exception of one, during the 2020 football season.

Whitehills power has translated to track & field too, as he won the boys shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 4 inches during last weeks 1-6A/2-6A Area Track Championship at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa.

Hes really explosive, Lee throws coach Frank Maldonado said. This is all about hips, his hips are really explosive. Hes able to get a lot of power.

Whitehills gold-medal performance at the area meet earned him a spot in the Region I-6A Track & Field Championships, today and Saturday at Maverick Stadium in Arlington.

Whitehill can earn a spot in the UIL Class 6A state track meet, May 8 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, with a top two finish in todays noon shot put competition at regionals.

Whitehill is one of the top contenders for a state meet spot, as his personal best throw of 52-4 ranks as the fifth-best in Region I-6A this year, according to athletic.net.

I was really excited actually, Whitehill said of his throw at area. I hadnt thrown anything close to that in any meet so far. That meet before that, I had actually only threw only 46 so we managed to fix quite a few things in practice. It was good. I was pretty ecstatic.

Whitehill said he had a good feeling it would be a lengthy heave when the shot put left his hand.

You actually dont have to try as hard to throw it, Whitehill said of a good throw. It ends up coming out exactly where you need it to. You can tell. The spin feels nice. You dont feel off-balanced and with the release, it just kind of flies off. Its definitely a good feeling and you can normally tell.

I turned around real fast to check it out and it ended up going farther, so I was just excited about that. And then they read the measurements and of course, that made me real happy.

Maldonado calls Whitehill a tireless worker who spends many of his summer days throwing.

Whitehill credits his rapid improvement in the shot put this season to the technique he uses to generate power into his throws.

At the beginning of the season, I was gliding, Whitehill said. Now I spin. Thats probably the biggest change because once I was able to transfer over my discus spin into the shot put, everything started to flow a little better.

Whitehills impact goes well beyond athletics.

Whitehill started a food drive for the homeless in the sixth grade that ran through his eighth-grade year, and generated $20,000 in food supplies.

His heart is huge, Maldonado said. He says things and does things that you dont see very often in a kid.

Whitehill is looking forward to competing in todays region shot put championship, as he is within 4 feet, 4 inches of the events top-seeded thrower.

Maldonado says his advice to Whitehill is that the only thing that matters is what he does, and the focus has to be on performing at his best, not thinking about what his competition does.

I am confident that I can perform well again, Whitehill said. I have a good coach and we will work hard on it again. As far it goes, Im just excited to see how that level is because I am planning to go back there next year for sure. Im taking it step by step as of right now.

chadorn@mrt.com | Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports

REGION I-6A TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Maverick Stadium, Arlington

Today and Saturday

Midland ISD qualifiers (subject to change)

Boys

400 relay Midland High (Daniel Garcia, Caleb Lloyd, Michael Gomez, DCambrion White)

100 meters Canyon Moses, Lee; White, Midland High; Lloyd, Midland High

800 relay Midland High (Garcia, Lloyd, Adrian Ortega, White)

400 meters Bradyn Huffman, Lee

300 hurdles Tony Zamora, Lee

200 meters Trent Gonzalez, Lee

Discus Kaiden Andrews, Lee

Long jump White, Midland High

Pole vault Dominik Barraza, Lee

Shot put Garrett Whitehill, Lee

Girls

400 relay Midland High (Joy Egwu, Taylor Gonzalez, Ahmaria Tennon, Brielle Bracken)

100 meters Egwu, Midland High

200 meters Egwu, Midland High; Bracken, Midland High

1,600 relay Lee (Sofia Thompson, Brylee Awbrey, Kaitlyn Wiggins, Sarah Ramos)

Discus Leah Acosta, Lee; Emmi Builta, Lee

High jump Loredana Fouonji, Lee; Aubre Liggens, Midland High

Long jump Gonzalez, Midland High

Shot put Acosta, Lee

Schedule of events

Today

9 a.m. girls shot put; Noon boys pole vault and boys shot put; 3:30 p.m. 400 relay prelims; 4:45 p.m. 100 prelims; 5:15 p.m.800 relay prelims; 5:55 p.m. 400 prelims; 6:15 p.m. 300 hurdles prelims; 6:40 p.m. 200 prelims; 7:20 p.m. 1,600 relay prelims

Saturday

9 a.m. girls high jump, boys long jump and boys discus; Noon girls long jump and girls discus; 3:30 p.m. 400 relay finals; 4:50 p.m. 100 finals; 5:05 p.m. 800 relay finals; 5:30 p.m. 400 finals; 5:50 p.m. 300 hurdles finals; 6:10 p.m. 200 finals; 6:25 p.m. 1,600 relay finals

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HS TRACK: Lees Whitehill an explosive shot put thrower - Midland Reporter-Telegram