The state’s returning Gatorade Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year, the 5-foot-11 sophomore broke the tape in the 400-meter dash at the 2020 Iowa Distance Festival with a time of 54.23 seconds, which ranked as the nation’s No. 1 time among prep competitors during the abbreviated spring sports campaign. A year after setting the freshman national indoor record in the 800, Willis won her heat of the 800 at February’s Boston University Last Chance indoor meet in 2:03.05, which ranked as the nation’s No. 4 clocking in history among prep competitors. In the finals, she finished seventh behind two Olympians, three professionals and a collegian. She also took silver at the USATF Under-20 National Championships last summer in the 800, beating three collegians in the process, and she broke tape in the 800 at the Brooks PR Invitational.
Willis has maintained a weighted 4.0 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.
Willis plays violin at the Aber Suzuki Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She has volunteered locally at the Portage County Cultural Festival.
