Geneva's Whitley an athlete for all seasons

Geneva's Kelly Whitley (68) leads the pack during the 2007 class 3A state race in Peoria. Whitley was named the 2007 Girls Cross Country Player of the Year as a Freshman.
(Travis Haughton/Beacon News)

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It’s normal for a cross-country runner to also run track. It’s not so ordinary for a cross-country runner to also run track and play basketball.

Geneva sophomore star runner Kelly Whitley realizes this. It’s just that she isn’t ready just yet to give up hoopin’.

"I think playing three sports gives you a break from the other sports," Whitley said. "It’s fun. I would rather do that than focus on one sport all year. For this year, I’m going to do all three sports. I’m not sure about my junior year."

Although basketball skills run in the family -- her sister Taylor recently committed to Indiana State -- Whitley has shown her future is probably brightest wearing low-tops.

As a freshman, Whitley emerged as one of Illinois’ top runners and finished second at state with a time of 16:56 while helping Geneva secure its first team title.

Whitley, wearing her superstitious black nail polish, ran right with state champ Kristin Sutherland of Sandburg for the first two miles. She fell a bit back in the final one and ended up finishing 16 seconds behind.

"Going into the race I just told myself to stay with her as long as I could, and if she broke from me to stay as close as I could," Whitley said. "I was really happy with how I managed to stay with her long as I did."

Geneva coach Bob Thomson was also impressed.

"You just never know at state," he said. "Some kids rise to the occasion. She obviously rose to the occasion."

With Sutherland now graduated, Whitley is among the favorites to take the state’s top spot. It’s a position she’s not even considering at this point of the season.

"I’m trying not to think about the state championship and just think about the meets ahead of me," she said. "I think it would be too much to worry about this early."

What Whitley is worried about is having a sophomore slump. She understands how difficult it can be for sophomore runners to keep their times intact or improve them after their freshman season.

"We’re all worried about that," said Whitley, who was joined by eight other freshmen on varsity last season. "There are a lot of runners who prove they can be great throughout their careers. I plan to work through all the pain and hopefully just get better."