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A state championship is the dream of any high school athlete. One in a four-year career is great. Collecting two is even better.
DeVantre Whitelow, who is entering the Centralia Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2022, did that — and more.
After taking Class 2A titles in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes in the state meet at Charleston as a junior in 2010, he repeated the feat as a senior by again claiming both events to cap off a second straight season of being undefeated in each.
“When I was a freshman, we ran at an indoor meet in Charleston, I won and (CHS track) Coach (J.J.) DeMattei said, ‘You just beat some of the big guys,’ But I had no idea who they were. I was just fast and ran toward the finish line,” said Whitelow. “It wasn’t until my junior year that I started to take it seriously.”
As a junior, Whitelow came into his own and headed to the state meet undefeated in both the 100 and 200 including respective times of 10.94 and 22.17 at the sectional. Those were ranked eighth and sixth, respectively, in the state seeding although he had a 21.74 in the 200 at the South 7 Conference meet for a school record, and had a 10.67 timing at the Mattoon Invitational for his best time in the 100.
He was also a member of the 400 and 800 relay teams with Adonis Hill, Roger King and Seneca Jones which qualified as well.
In the state meet at O’Brien Field in Charleston, Whitelow first won the 100 in 10.82 to become Centralia’s first state champion in 22 years. He then joined the 800 relay team to help toward a sixth-place finish in 1:29.45.
But first, he set a school record in the preliminaries the day before with a 10.68 in the 100 and broke his own Centralia High record with a 21.56 in the 200.
In the 200 finals, the next-to-last field track event of the day, Whitelow joined Lowell Sprugeon (1933 and 1934) and George Hails (1902) as the only CHS athletes to win two events in the same state meet.
His winning time was 21.77 as he held off a late charge by Brian Carter of Chicago Kelvyn Park.
After helping the Orphans to a second-place finish in the Class 3A state basketball tournament the following winter, Whitelow came in as a senior ready to defend his titles which he did.
“In my junior year, I was the underdog,” said Whitelow. “But after winning both races, the pressure was on me to train harder the next year.”
While seeded 16th in the 100 at state after cruising to victory at the sectional in 10.97, he had the best time in the state in the 200 after breaking his CHS mark at the sectional in 21.42. He was also part of the 400 relay team with King, Hill and Andrew Panega who set a school record time in 41.98 during the season.
At Charleston, he capped off two more perfect seasons with a 10.63 in the 100 for another school mark and in the 200, set a state record in 21.46 despite battling a hamstring issue. That was in addition to taking up the anchor leg on the 400 and 800 relay teams that were fifth and third, respectively.
Following the state meet, Whitelow, who had narrowed his college choices to three schools in Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Kentucky and Michigan State, went with the Big Ten Conference member Spartans.
At East Lansing, Mich., he overcame some early injuries and had a strong four-year career starting with a pair of 60-meter dash championship and a third-place finish at the Big Ten Conference meet with a PR of 6.75 seconds. Also in his freshman year, he went on to place in the 100, and as a part of the 400 meter relay team at the league’s outdoor meet.
“It was a whole new atmosphere in college,” he said. “I had to redo everything when it came to my running style.
“I knew I wouldn’t be the fastest and it was colder in Michigan. It took me a while to get caught up and become acclimated to the environment.”
A consistent placer for the Spartans in both the sprints and relays throughout his career, Whitelow was third in the 60 meters at the conference indoor meet as a senior (6.75). At the outdoor meet, he was fifth in the 100 with a personal best time of 10.41.
His final college meet was an NCAA qualifier at Jacksonville, Fla., which he was prevented from advancing by USC’s Andre deGrasse who would go on to medal in the 100 and 200 at the Olympics.
“That’s how my career ended but I didn’t feel as bad after he placed in the Olympics,” said Whitelow. “Track is what led me to Michigan State. It helped build my character and the lessons I learned are things I carry in everyday life.”
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