West Johnston star Hayley Whoolery announced her commitment to East Carolina over the weekend. East Carolina keeps one of the states top female distance recruits close to home.
Whoolery said, "I love how welcoming and supportive the team and coaches are, and I know that I will be able to grow and hopefully make an impact on the team in the future."
She also was considering North Carolina State and Appalachian State.
Whoolery is coming off a huge regional weekend. She took 2nd place at the NCHSAA 3A East Regional at Boyd Lee Park. Her 17:34 mark is the second fastest time in North Carolina this season. She'll go into the state meet this weekend where she'll look to win her first cross country state title in a loaded 3A field.
Whoolery emerged as one of the states top distance runners as a junior. She placed 4th in the NCHSAA 3A classification as a junior in cross country. She was also the 3A runner-up in the 3200m indoors and outdoors and won the 3A 1600m state title to cap off a break out year.
Whoolery holds PRs of 5:02, 9:51 for 3K, 10:46 for 3200m and 17:17 for the 5000m on the track. With a strong cross country season thus far she should go on to break these personal best before heading to ECU in the fall.
