Taking over the perennially successful programs from long-time head coach George Towle, Whitten inherited a program that has been successful at the conference, region and national level and has continued the rich tradition.  Since joining the Huskies’ staff, Whitten and his staff have made an immediate impact and guided the Southern Maine women to the LEC Outdoor Track & Field Championship title in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024 and LEC Indoor Track & Field titles in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The 2020 LEC title, included four individual conference champions, and marked the program’s 20th LEC trophy. Whitten also led the Huskies' men's program to an LEC Indoor Championship in 2024.
 
Whitten has coached four All-Americans in Adela Kalilwa, Sophia Slovenski, Ben Drummey, and Ethan Shain.  An All-American in the pole vault, Slovenski went on to win the 2021 National Championship in the javelin during the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship.  Slovenski joined Peyton Dostie ’16 (pentathlon) on the short list for USM women’s track & field national champions. In 2023, Drummey repeated as the national champion in pole vault at the indoor championships and was an All-American once again at the outdoor national championships.

 

During the 2021-22 academic year, Whitten and his staff were named the LEC Staff of the Year for the indoor and outdoor seasons after snagging a conference record 21st indoor title.  Four of Whitten’s student-athletes Zoe Barnes, Jaigan Boudreau, Olivia Jalbert and Hannah Corbett earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors, while Jalbert qualified for the NCAA National Championship with a record setting performance in the high jump in her first season of indoor competition.
 
At the conclusion of the outdoor season, Whitten and his staff again were recognized by the LEC with Staff of the Year honors as the Huskies’ claimed their 21st outdoor title.  Boudreau and Jalbert were named the Rookie Field Athlete of the Year and the Field Athlete of the Year by the LEC, and the Huskies’ had 15 all-conference citations. 

Prior to his appointment at Southern Maine, Whitten spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Rhode Island (URI) men’s track and field program, focusing primarily on jumpers and multi-event athletes.  During his time with URI, Whitten helped develop 49 Atlantic-10 champions, 102 All-New England finishes, 17 New England champions, and 35 All-East/All-IC4A selections. During the 2018 season, Whitten was chosen by his peers as the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the Northeast Region.
 
Before URI, Whitten spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the University of Hartford, and also served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of New Hampshire, and was part of the Wildcats 2006 America East Outdoor Track and Field Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
One of the strongest programs in Division III, the USM women's program has produced two national champions (Peyton Dostie ’16, pentathlon; Sophia Slovenski ’23, javelin), 23 All-American performances, won 23 Little East Conference indoor titles, 23 outdoor titles and six cross country championships, 17 New England Alliance indoor championships, 16 outdoor championships and two cross country titles and three State of Maine indoor track and field crowns.