July 12, 2022

Whyte and Hardy named 2022 Gatorade Virginia Track & Field Players of the Year

USATF Virginia members Madison Whyte, 17, of Newport News and Deondre Hardy, 19, of Suffolk have been selected as the 2022 Gatorade Virginia Track & Field Players of the Year.

The award, recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

Madison Whyte, 17, is the first Gatorade Virginia Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Heritage High School.

The 5-foot-9 junior broke the tape in the 200m at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor this past season. Her winning time of 23.30 seconds ranked No. 9 nationally among prep competitors in 2022. At the USATF U20 Championships she placed fifth in the 400m running a personal best time of 53.38 (U.S. #13 in 2022). Whyte also swept the 100m, 200m and 400m at the Class 4 state meet, leading the Hurricanes to the team title. She clocked a meet-record 100m time of 11.63.

Whyte has volunteered locally with the Newport News Public Schools Bloom/Flourish program, which is designed to empower young girls to become community leaders. A member of her school choir, she has also donated her time with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula.

Madison is everything as advertised. From her warm up to the race and her cool down, she’s a notch above her peers in this state. She has little to no wasted movement and top-end speed that is next-level. - Curtis Campbell, head coach of Great Bridge High School

Whyte has maintained a weighted 3.90 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school in the fall.

Deondre Hardy, 19, is the second Gatorade Virginia Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be
chosen from Nansemond River High School.

The 5-foot-8, 140-pound senior won the 110-meter high hurdles and the triple jump at the Class 5 state meet this past season, leading the Warriors to a third-place finish as a team. Hardy’s winning triple jump of 47 feet, 9.5 inches ranked him nationally at #39 in 2022, while his 110 hurdles time of 14.01 ranked No. 45 in the country this spring. He earned All-American honors in four events at the adidas Outdoor Nationals, taking bronze in both the 110m hurdles and the 400m hurdles, while running the third leg onthe 4x200-meter relay and 1,000-meter Swedish relay teams with his club team.

Hardy has volunteered locally as a youth track coach.

Ever since his high school career began, Deondre was told by myself and other coaches that he was probably too short, Comments like this fueled him. He’s been counted out by so many and has always overcome any odds. I still recall at some of our first practices I wasn’t so sure he could be a great hurdler and jumper, but after our first meet together he quickly changed my mind. - Marco McCoy, head coach of Nansemond River High School

Hardy has maintained a 3.04 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Coastal Carolina University (S.C.) this fall.