By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Michael Parrigon found himself in all-too familiar waters during Saturday’s 1600-meter district race.
The McAuley Catholic senior had a pair of rivals from nearby Thomas Jefferson Independent attached to his hip from the start of the race in Will Twiss and Braden Honeywell-Lynch; however, Parrigon – the No. 1 ranked 1600 runner in Class 1 – showed he still has a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to strategy.
“We went out a little slow,” Parrigon said. “We came through, like, 1:09, 1:10, and then second lap, kind of just cruised, kind of trying to keep the same pace, speed up a little bit. And then on the third lap, I really made a move. I made a little surge, and kind of broke up, broke the gap a little bit, and then on this back stretch, I started peeling away from and the last 400 just go.”
PHOTOS: TRACK EVENTS – CLICK HERE
Parrigon’s kick was just enough to secure a two-second victory.
A short time later, Parrigon and teammate Trae Veer cruised to a 1-2 finish in the 800, again outdistancing a pair of Thomas Jefferson rivals for the win.
“So T.J., we’re really competitive,” Parrigon said. “We’re right down the street from them, so we knew we wanted to win that one. So, I gave what I could in the mile – it was just, uh, win it. Just do what you have to win it. And then the eight, Trae Veer and I were hopefully just gonna go do what we can to win it.”
Parrigon and Veer helped McAuley Catholic capture another district title late in the afternoon, when the pair joined teammates Alex Bohachick and Connor Taffner in the 4×400 meter relay.
