Wharton, Johonnot selected Nevada track athletes of year

Valley's Garic Wharton capped his high school track career by winning two state titles in May.

For his efforts, Wharton has been named the Gatorade Nevada Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Centennial standout Karli Johonnot was named the Gatorade Nevada Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Wharton swept the sprint events at the Class 4A state meet, winning the 100 meters in 10.89 seconds and the 200 in 21.44.

Wharton, who has signed with Arizona to play football and run track, set a state meet record of 10.39 in the 100 as a junior, and ran the sixth-fastest time in the nation in the 200 (21.05) this season.

Johonnot, who will be a senior in the fall, won Class 4A state titles in the 300 hurdles (45.01) and high jump (5 feet, 4 inches). She also placed second in the 100 hurdles (15.71) and fourth in the pole vault (10-0).

Johonnot placed 10th in the heptathlon last week at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Her best finish came in the 800, where she was fourth in 2:23.36.

Another of the area's top all-around athletes, Del Sol's Evan Weinstock, placed sixth in the decathlon at the meet.

Weinstock's best events were the sprints, in which he finished third in the 100 (11.0) and fourth in the 400 (50.79).