Whiting attended Central Dauphin High School and started competing in shot put and discus throw events as a teenager.

[3] Whiting made his international debut at the 2005 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, where he won both events with personal record marks.

[4] He was chosen as the Gatorade Male Track and Field Athlete of the year, ranking him as the top American high school track-and-fielder.

He also ranked top ten in the discus at the NCAA meet and placed sixth in the shot put at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

[3] He performed well at the season-ending 2008 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics, taking the shot put gold and discus silver medals.

In addition, he excelled off the field with his studies: he was twice chosen for the second team of the Academic All-America student-athlete program and received a number of Pac-10 and USTFCCCA All-Academic honours.

[3] Whiting signed up with Nike Inc. in 2010, while still at Arizona State, and began to compete on the American track and field circuit that year.

Returning to his native Pennsylvania, Whiting became a volunteer coach on the Penn State University track and field staff.

[16] He did not match this form outdoors that year,[17] but still managed a number of podium finishes on the 2011 IAAF Diamond League circuit (Shanghai, Stockholm and Zürich).