(Photo by Jeff Adams)
Chamberlain standout and UF commit Maggie Parrish grew up surrounded by success. The senior, one of the most successful female distance runner Chamberlain has ever seen, grew up watching older brother Mark Parrish excel in his running career at both Chamberlain and UF. Mark, a UF grad, holds three UF school records and All-American status in the 3000m steeplechase.
"Mark has definitely pushed me in my training, encouraging me to work harder each day and give more than I thought that I could," Maggie said. "He has shown me that it is possible to combine a high level of athletic training and achieve academically at the same time."
Even with Mark's successes, Maggie holds her own as a runner. She is a three-time state XC qualifier and two-time state track qualifier for Chamberlain, has won two district XC titles and three district 3200 titles. At the 2015 state meet, she ran sub-19 for her first XC state medal, placing ninth in 18:59.77.
"Mark was very supportive of my college selection process, always encouraging me to make sure that my choice of schools would put academics first, as there will be a time when I will have to hang up my running shoes and move onto a different phase of my life," she said.
As her final track season nears, Maggie hopes to come close to 5 flat in the 1600 and 11 minutes in the 3200, as well as a top-5 finish in the 3200, her signature event, at state meet to improve on last year's eighth place finish. Besides times, Parrish wants to enjoy her final high school season.
"I'll miss my team, spending a portion of 6 days a week with them-the fun times and memories that we have made in the past 4 years," she said. "I'll miss my coaches who has been supporting me since I began running in the 6th grade. Also, I will definitely miss all of the friends that I have made around the state through running."
Outside of running, Parrish is involved in STEM, participating in both the Hillsborough County and state STEM fairs, as well as being named a Young Woman of Promise by the Athena Society. UF's engineering/biological engineering program, which she hopes to major in, was a big draw for her.
Parrish says she looks forward to continuing her running career and competing at a higher level in college, however, she will miss her Chamberlain teammates. With Parrish at the lead, the girls team broke records, placing fourth in the 2014 3A-3 regional meet to advance to the state meet as a team for the first time in school history.
"I would just like to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged me-everyone at Chamberlain, my family, friends, teammates and coaches," she said. "Thank you so much!! Go Gators!!"
