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Parros holds his own against Olympians and All-Americans

By Jim Lambert

 
Parros, 2nd from left, racing McCoy, Quow, and Kirk.  Photo John Nepolitan
Clayton Parros was dreaming, but his eyes were wide open.

The Seton Hall Prep NJ senior, lining up next to Olympians and All-Americans under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, took advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime by turning in a remarkable performance in front of 11,543 at the 102nd Millrose Games.

Parros gamely fought to stay in contact with the rest of the four-runner field for the first 500 yards of the Men’s Open 600-yard run before he exploded past former Winslow NJ prep and former Auburn All-American Reuben McCoy to finish in third place in 1:12.64, No. 8 in New Jersey history. That's an even more impressive time considering he did it on the Garden’s tight 11-lap-to-a-mile track.

Parros finished just 1.32 seconds behind the winner, Renny Quow of Trinidad & Tobago (1:11.32), and 1.26 seconds behind Sherridan Kirk (1:11.38), also of Trinidad & Tobago.

Flash Results, Inc. 
102nd Millrose Games
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - 1/30/2009

Event 18 Men 600 Yard Run Mel Sheppard
===============================================================
Name Year Team Finals
===============================================================
Finals
1 Renny Quow TRI 1:11.32
2 Sherridan Kirk TRI 1:11.38
3 Clayton Parros USA 1:12.64
4 Reuben McCoy USA 1:13.61
The 21-year-old Quow, was seventh in the 400 at the Beijing Olympic Games last summer (45.22), and has a personal best at that distance of 45.04.  The 27-year-old Kirk was an All-American at Auburn who won the 800 at the Millrose Games two years ago.

``This is the best moment I’ve ever had,’’ said the North Carolina-bound Parros. ``To be on this track running against these great runners is a dream come true.’’

Parros said he’s usually nervous before a race, but not this time.

``I was the high school kid that had nothing to lose,’’ said Parros, who owns the fastest high school 400 time in the nation this season of 47.58. ``I figured no one expected me to do anything, so I just ran nice and relaxed.’’

Parros had a plan to get out fast and try to run near the front.

``Their explosiveness surprised me a bit,’’ said Parros. ``I watched the video of the race last year and thought I’d be ready for it.  But they are just so strong and fast.’’

Bur Parros didn’t panic after his slow start.

``I just tried to hang with them as long as I could,’’ he said.  ``On that last lap I just gave it everything I had to try to at least get past one of them.  It was a great feeling to not finish last.’’

Parros said he didn’t allow himself to think of the other runners being superior to him just because of their age and experience.

``I think what this race shows is that you can’t let people put you in a box,’’ said Parros. ``Sure it was a big race, but I tried to look at it like every race by just going out and competing as hard as I could, and not worrying about who you are running against.’’


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