Modesty, to almost paraphrase Billy Joel, is such a lonely word. And in maintaining societal rhythms, you’d hardly fault Cam Whalen for a little chest thumping now that his noteworthy high school athletic career is finished.

To wit:

He was the 2017 CIAC Class M boys’ outdoor track and field champion in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. It earned him The Day's 2017 All-Area Boys' Track & Field Athlete of the Year honor.

Whalen then helped the Stonington High School boys’ soccer team to an unbeaten regular season this past fall as well as the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II and league tournament titles. He was an All-ECC, Class M all-state and All-New England selection and The Day’s 2017 All-Area Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year.

This winter, Whalen was the Class M indoor champion in the 55 hurdles, second in New England.

And in the spring, he helped the Bears finish second in the ECC meet in track (to much larger Norwich Free Academy) and second in Class M, all while earning enough individual accomplishments to merit a trip to North Carolina and the New Balance National Outdoor Meet.

He was named The Day’s 2018 Boys' Track & Field Athlete of the Year, as well, giving him three Day Player of the Year honors in his last four seasons. Elite air, there.

Hence, no hyperbole here: Cam Whalen is among the greatest athletes in the estimable athletic history of Stonington High.

And yet not many other athletes from in or out of the ECC can “aw shucks” their way through their accomplishments better than Whalen.

“I don’t really know how I came to be athletic,” he said. “My brother was a good athlete. Maybe it runs in the family.”

Or maybe the family just runs. Whalen was among the fastest athletes in the state this spring, culminating with a 23rd-place finish in the emerging elite division at the New Balance Nationals in the 110 hurdles. He was also part of 800 and 1,600-meter sprint medley relays that placed in the top 10.

He was ECC champion and Class M champion in both hurdles events, as well as tacking on a state title as a member of the 4x400 relay team.

“I really wasn’t a hurdler when I got to high school,” he said. “It just kind of happened after my freshman year.”

Whalen was equally prolific in soccer, leading the Bears to an ECC title. His specialty: the 30-yard throw in, a de facto corner kick. It was the league’s greatest overall weapon.

“It just came through practice,” Whalen said. “I can’t tell you how many medicine balls I’ve thrown in my life.”

Whalen earned a track scholarship to Division I Central Connecticut State University during a school year in which he and the Bears were quite successful.

“We had high expectations in soccer and we achieved most of our goals,” he said. “We had two good seasons in track, too. In the moment, I don’t think you really think much about that stuff. But when you look back, we did pretty well.”

Indeed.

And that’s what Whalen will take with him to Central. Stonington does not boast enrollment numbers similar to East Lyme, Fitch or NFA. Still, not a bad year.

“What I’ll remember is how much the school got behind the soccer team while we were making our tournament run,” Whalen said. “That was a real cool memory. We’re a small school, sure. But we hold our own athletic-wise. We’re all proud of that.”

m.dimauro@theday.com

The Day's 2018 All-Area Boys' Track Team

Player

of

the

Year - Cam Whalen (Stonington)

100 meters - Shayne Beckloff (Waterford)

200 - Dylan Hatajik (East Lyme)

400 - Greg Clark (Montville)

800 - Rhys Hammond (Stonington)

1,600, 3,200 - Sam Whittaker (East Lyme)

110 hurdles - David Osagie (NFA)

300 hurdles - Shane Smith (Stonington)

4x100 relay - Montville (Gennaro Davis, Daltyn Butler, Greg Clark, Nik Angell)

4x400 relay - Stonington (Joey Hinckley, Blake Edwards, Cam Whalen, Rhys Hammond)

4x800 relay - East Lyme (Sam Whittaker, Matthew Kung, Chris Abbey, Ryan McCauley)

High jump - Brenden Sholes (NFA)

Pole vault - Chris Weir (NFA)

Long jump - Jahiem Spruill (NFA)

Triple jump - Collin Wiltshire (Ledyard)

Shot put - Adelino Daveiga (NFA)

Discus - Thomas Joyner (Fitch)

Javelin - Chris Hebert (NFA)

Utility - James Smith (Ledyard)