Hayley Whiteneck is a senior at Cheyenne High School, where she competes on the Lady Bears cross country, basketball, and track and field teams. Whiteneck is one of the best long-distance runners in Class A, qualifying for the state cross country meet all four years. She is also a four-time all stater with her best performance coming her junior season after placing third overall with a time of 12:38.
Whiteneck does a little bit of everything for the Lady Bears on the basketball court at the guard position. Entering her junior season, Whiteneck was asked to take on a role as the teams’ primary ball handler. Since then, Whiteneck has made it to the all-conference team after her junior and senior seasons. This season, the No. 4 ranked Lady Bears reach the Class A state tournament as Whiteneck averaged 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.3 steals per game during her senior season. During Whiteneck’s three years as a starter, Cheyenne was crowned as district champions three times and finished with nearly 60 wins.
On the track team, Whiteneck competes in the 400m, 800m, and the 1600m races. As a sophomore, she placed in all three events and is entering her final season even hungrier after the cancellation of the 2020 season. At the 2021 regional meet in Alex, Whiteneck finished as runner up in the 400m and 1600m races and was the regional champion in the 800m race. Out of all four regional meets in Class A, Whiteneck finished with the 7th best time in the 400m race, the 4th best time in the 1600m race, and the best overall time in the 800m race with a time of 2:26.23.
Outside of athletics, Whiteneck is involved in National Honor Society and principal’s leadership council. Upon graduation, she plans to attend college and study to become a physical therapist.
Whiteneck credited Andi Ebersole for her success in cross country and track and field.
“We don’t really have a coach since our team is so small,” Whiteneck said. “[Andi] has a kid on both teams, and she’s basically been our coach. She’s been a big part of the track and cross country teams and has been a huge help.”
