In its 37th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced that Walker Whalen of Indianola High School is the 2021-22 Gatorade Iowa Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. Whalen is the first Gatorade Iowa Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Indianola High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Whalen as Iowa’s best high school boys track & field athlete. He is now also a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Player of the Year award to be announced in July.

The 6-foot-4, 212-pound senior set a state record in the discus at the Class 4A state meet this past season, leading the Indians to a 10th-place finish as a team. Whalen broke the previous record by more than 7 feet, hurling the disc 204 feet, 9 inches, which ranked No. 5 nationally among prep competitors in 2022 at the time of his selection. An All-State selection in track, football and wrestling, he won the discus at the Drake Relays and finished eighth in the event at the Nike Outdoor Nationals.

The 2021-22 Indianola High Homecoming King, Whalen won an American Legion scholarship for outstanding character and leadership. He has served as an ambassador for the Indianola Community Youth Foundation and has volunteered locally as a middle-school mentor. Whalen also donated his time to multiple community service initiatives through his church.

“Walker’s attention to detail and commitment to excellence is unmatched,” said Matt Oliver, Indianola Boys Track and Field Head Coach. “To have the opportunity to coach an athlete of his caliber who is also a selfless teammate is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me as a coach.”

Whalen has maintained a weighted 3.55 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at the University of Iowa this fall.