Whittaker on Friday after clocking her US #1 time in the 800 at Ocean Breeze in New York.
Two of Maryland's top distance runners went out-of-state this weekend and clocked impressive times at their respective races. Both competing against collegiate and post-collegiate runners, Juliette Whittaker and Owen Johnson more than held their own, each clocking MD #1 times in the process.
Whittaker competed in the 800 at the Fastrack Last Chance meet at Ocean Breeze in New York and clocked a 2:03.01 personal best, more than two seconds faster than her previous best from last year's New Balance Outdoor Nationals. It's the top time in the country, the fastest time ever by a Maryland girl in the indoor 800 (update: US number three all-time), and is just another accomplishment on her already impressively-long list as she winds down her sophomore indoor season.
Johnson, meanwhile, traveled a bit further to race, making the trek up to Massachusetts for the Boston University Last Chance meet. There he finished fifth in the second heat of the 3000 and 15th overall (out of a field of 41 starters). It's the fastest indoor 3K time in our database by a Maryland runner (a second better than Dalton Hengst ran the winter before his sub-9:00 3200 in the spring). It's also the third-fastest 3K time currently in the US.
Both Whittaker and Johnson will likely be competing for national titles at the upcoming New Balance Indoor Nationals.