Wheating originally played soccer in high school. He ran two seasons of cross country and one season of track during his stay at Kimball Union Academy. During his first season of track in his senior year, he burst onto the track scene, ranking fourth nationally with a time of 3:54.28 in the 1500 m. He led the nation with a 14:55.28 indoor 5000 m time. His school coach was Buzz Morrison. Wheating became one of the four incoming freshmen at the University of Oregon that ranked top ten nationally in the 1500 m.
College career
Wheating attended the University of Oregon in Eugene; his major was sociology. During his first year of track during the 2006–2007 season, Wheating ran the 800 m for the first time, and led the Ducks in the 800 with a time of 1:50.17. He got points in Pac-10 competition and was part of three relays that were all top five in school history. In addition, he was ranked seventh nationally in the 1500 metres with a time of 3:45.17. Wheating skipped his freshman year of cross country, making 2007 his first season. He was on the All-Pac-10 Second Team for finishing top fourteen in league competition.
During his second season of track in his sophomore year, Wheating became one of the leaders in both the 800 and 1500 nationally. He won eleven straight races in the 800 m races before losing by .01s to Jacob Hernandez in the NCAA Division I national championship. He also excelled in the 1500, clocking a time of 3:38.60, good enough for sixth all time on the University of Oregon list. His time in the 1500 was an NCAA best in 2008, but chose to compete in the 800 instead in both NCAA Nationals and the Olympic Trials. His time of 1:45.03 at the Olympic Trials was good for second on the all-time Univ. of Oregon 800 metres list. He was the NCAA champion in the 800 in both 2009 and 2010. In winning the 1500 at the 2010 NCAA championship he became the first Division I man to win both the 800 and 1500 in the same season since fellow Duck Joaquim Cruz in 1984.
2008 Olympic Trials & Games
At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Wheating ran a personal best time of 1:45.03, finishing in second place behind Nick Symmonds and earning a spot on the US Olympic Team. His somewhat unexpected qualification was the middle of the Oregon Sweep. In Beijing, he finished fourth in his qualifying heat and failed to advance to the semifinals.[4]
Professional
On July 16, 2010, Wheating improved on his personal best in the 800 m with a time of 1:44.62.[5][6] Six days later, on July 22, Wheating improved on his personal best in the 1500 m with a time of 3:30.90.[7] That was nearly seven seconds better than his previous best and the fourth-best mark in U.S. history.[8]
In 2012, Wheating made his 2nd Olympic team by placing 3rd at the USA Trials. He made it through the quarterfinals, but failed to qualify to the finals by placing 9th and running a 3:44.88 in his Semi-Final Heat.
