Parrish, Enos, area track standouts kick off indoor season Saturday

Posted Jan 26, 2010 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 26, 2010 at 03:55 PM

Chamberlain star distance runner Mark Parrish and Wharton pole vault champion London Enos head a list of talented local track and field athletes headed to Gainesville for Saturday’s Jimmy Carnes Invitational indoor meet at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Parrish, the Class 4A state runner-up in cross country last fall, is entered in standout mile and 3,000-meter fields. Enos, the defending Class 3A state pole vault champion, is among the favorites in that event Saturday.

Among those Parrish will face in the mile is Tallahassee Leon’s Matt Mizereck, a three-time state cross country champion and 2009 Foot Locker finalist, Wharton standout Nick Swain and Chamberlain teammate Jake Covington.

Parrish and Mizereck will face off again later in the meet for the 3,000, where they will be joined by Miami Belen Jesuit’s Elliott Clemente, who was third in last fall’s 3A state cross country finals, and Chamberlain sophomore Max del Monte.

Although he’s never run an indoor meet and he took some time off after competing in the Foot Locker regional meet in November, Parrish says he’s in good shape for this point in the season. He’s even done some limited speed work in recent workouts, a rarity for most prep track athletes in January.

“I’m feeling pretty good and I think I can run some decent times Saturday,” said Parrish, who is considering attending Georgia Tech, Florida or Princeton next fall. “I’m interested to see how fast I can run right now.”

Along with Enos, Wharton will send several other standout athletes, including all-county distance runners Abby Ritter and Erin Bailey and 800-meter star Shannon Meggs. Look for the Wildcats in several relays, including the 4x800.

Two of Tampa Bay Tech’s top track athletes – Tanesha Maxwell and La’Shae White—are slated to compete. Maxwell is entered in the 55- and 200-meter dashes while White is scheduled to run the 200 and 400.