The state’s three-time returning Gatorade Girls Track & Field Player of the Year and also the 2020-21 Gatorade National Player of the Year in the sport, the 5-foot-11 senior won the 800-meter race at the Division 1 state meet, leading the Panthers to a 12th-place finish as a team. At the time of her selection, Willis’ winning time of 2:00.03 ranked No. 2 nationally among prep competitors in 2022 and No. 3 in U.S. history. She won a national championship in the 400-meter run at Nike Outdoor Nationals, crossing the line in 52.64, which ranked No. 4 in the country this spring. In April, she joined Olympians Heather MacLean, Kendall Ellis and Elle Purrier St. Pierre on a distance medley relay quartet that set a world record at the opening of The Track at New Balance in Boston.
Willis has maintained a weighted 4.06 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Stanford University this fall.
Willis has volunteered locally as part of a pen pal program with elementary school students and children with special needs. An accomplished violin player, she has also donated her time with the Uplift Foundation, an organization that raises money for women and children in crisis throughout the country.
