A day after running a PR of 2:07.91, Shelby Whetstone ran two seconds faster.
Whetstone, a Rutgers senior from Lenape, placed 5th at the Big Ten Championships Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 2:05.58.
Her PR for two years had been 2:08.02 from a meet in Palo Alto, Calif., in April 2022, but she trimmed it to 2:07.91 in the Big Ten trials on Saturday and then had a huge breakthrough Sunday in her final conference meet.
Whetstone’s 2:05.58 is 2nd-fastest in Rutgers history, behind Kassidy Johnson’s 2:02.35 at the 2023 Tom Jones in April 2023 in Gainesville.
Her time is 7th-fastest all-time by a South Jersey native and fastest since Rancocas Valley graduate Kimarra McDonald ran 2:02.76 on July 12, 2017, at the Lignano Sabbiadoro Meeting International Sport Solidarieta at Guido Teghil Stadium in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy.
1:59.85 … Michelle DiMuro [Shawnee], June 17, 1996, Atlanta
1:59.99 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], July 13, 2010, Liège, Belgium
2:02.20 … Kimarra McDonald [Rancocas Valley], June 2, 2012, Nashville
2:02.49 … Krista Ferrara [Vineland], June 25, 2006, Indianapolis
2:03.34 … Greta Feldman [Haddonfield], June 15, 2013, Indianapolis
2:03.88 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], May 13, 2012, Baton Rouge, La.
2:05.06 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], May 31, 2013, West Chester, Pa.
2:05.58 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape], May 12, 2024, Ann Arboro, Mich.
2:06.15 … Sydney Coppolino [Sterling], May 13, 2022, Durham, N.C.
2:07.18 … Kristen Neidrach [Shawnee], Kortrijk, Belgium, July 10, 2021
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 