* Juliette Whittaker at the Penn Relays in April
Photo Credit: MileSplit
Juliette Whittaker has been building her case as the fastest high school girls 800m runner of all-time in 2022.
On Saturday, the Mount De Sales (MD) graduate finally ended the discussion.
Whittaker, the high-profile Stanford recruit coming off a win in the mile at Brooks PR, broke the high school national record at the distance with a performance of 1:59.04 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon during the USATF U20 Championships.
She qualified for the World U20 Championships in the process. In fact, she would have been the fifth-fastest women in the first round of the 800m at the USA Championships on Friday.
Whittaker's performance surpassed Mary Cain's former mark of 1:59.51, which she set at the Prefontaine Classic in 2013.
The effort was also her second sub-2 effort since May, when she also broke the barrier in New York City.
Leading Stevens Point (WI) graduate Roisin Willis and LSU freshman Michaela Rose over the first 400 meters, Whittaker opened her first 400 meters in 59.04 and closed in 60-seconds flat.
But she wasn't the only standout.
Willis booked her ticket to Colombia in second-place, too, finishing in 2:00.32, while Rose was third in 2:06.71.
After clocking a time of 2:00.03 at her Wisconsin State Track and Field Championships, Willis clocked her second 2-flat performance of the year. It was her third overall of the year.
Whittaker, meanwhile, went under two minutes for the second time this outdoor season.
Previously, the Stanford recruit authored a time of 1:59.80 at the Trials of Miles in New York City. She had also run 2:01.55 at the Penn Relays Carnival in April.