O-R Athlete of the Week: Kinlee Whited
Name: Kinlee Whited
School: Beth-Center
Class: Senior
Sport: Basketball
Whited’s week: Whited eclipsed the 1,000 career-point milestone in the final seconds of the Bulldogs’ Section 3-AA-opening win last Thursday over Frazier, 58-48. Entering the game 21 points shy of the mark, Whited was fouled going to the basket with more than a minute to play and made both free throws to reach, and pass, the milestone.
Whited then played a big part in extending Beth-Center’s winning streak to four games when she finished tied for a team-high 15 points in a 67-32 road victory against Carmichaels.
“It was pretty awesome to have that opportunity to celebrate with my teammates,” Whited said. “The important thing was that we got the win. Before the season, I knew that I was close. But I was also under the impression that if it was going to happen it would eventually happen.”
As a young varsity player – Whited has started in the backcourt for Beth-Center since her freshman season – she experienced former teammate Anna Bartman achieve that same feat of 1,000 career points. It was a memory that Whited recalled as she approached the milestone.
“During my freshman year, I was just excited to see the court,” she said. “It became our team goal to help Anna get to 1,000. It was a great feeling that we could help her accomplish that.”
Stepping up: One of only three seniors on Beth-Center’s roster, Whited has thrived in a leadership role the past two seasons, letting her play do the talking.
After averaging 15.9 points per game as a junior, she has continued to thrive, alternating between point guard and small forward. She also thrived in a leadership role as an outside hitter for Beth-Center’s volleyball team, which finished as co-section champions with Waynesburg this year.
“When we won the section title in volleyball, there was no feeling like that,” Whited said. “We want to have that same feeling for basketball. I couldn’t imagine myself as a follower. I’m a leader. I’m one people look up to. I have to know and understand that role.”
Whited has been around sports her entire life with old brother Levi, who played basketball and soccer at Beth-Center. Her father, Ed, is an equipment services manager at the University of Pittsburgh and her mother, Tina, was an athletic trainer at Pitt and The Physical Therapy Institute.
“Athletics have just always been a part of our lives,” Whited said.
Whited also runs track, holding the school’s 300-meter hurdles record. She has competed at the WPIAL Track & Field Championships the past two years.
Compiled by Luke Campbell.