Kingwood, Texas senior Myles Marshall ran the U.S. #1 mark of 2:24.43 for 1k to place seventh in a field of professional runners in what may have been the most impressive prep performance of the entire 108th NYRR Millrose Games.

 

The time is the eighth-fastest on the all-time high school list in Marshall's second-ever indoor race.

 

"It was my first 1,000 and I was in lane one so I kind of pictured myself getting boxed in really early so I [was trying] to maintain my position on the rail and not get shut out the back," Marshall said. "So I went out harder than I expected to in the first 100m or so, I guess, and was kind of hanging on and around lap three or lap four, they kind of got away from me a little bit and I had a flashback to Boston."

 

Marshall's debut indoor race was the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix Junior Men's Mile, where he placed a disappointing 11th in 4:24.28. The race was his first-ever mile.

 

"I kind of have a mental trick of knowing when to go and when to kick," he said. "I was just waiting and ended up being pretty strong at the end... I had no idea what I was going to run.

 

"When I saw 2:24, I knew that the next high school time was 2:26 and I honestly think if I knew I was [there], I could have ran a lot faster but [the race] wasn't to run fast, it was just for the experience."

 

The learning experience is just the latest in a laundry list of national middle-distance accolades. The 800m specialist with a personal record of 1:48.43 is a two-time Texas State Champion, New Balance Nationals All-American, USATF Junior Nationals runner-up, IAAF World Juniors qualifier and, oh yeah, the reigning World Youth Olympic Games champion.

 

The long-legged, sinewy athlete looks like he was born to run - and maybe he was. Marshall's parents are John and Debbie Marshall, both former All-Americans for Villanova University who went on to compete professionally. John nabbed the final qualifier for the 1984 Olympic Games in one of the most thrilling 800m races in American history.

 

One might think that a guy with Marshall's credentials must have it all figured out.

 

But Marshall says he is the most nervous athlete on the start line.

 

"No matter how confident I seem like, I'll get worried, like about my shoes coming off," he said. "I would look up people on MileSplit and even if people ran 2:02 or two flat, I'd think, 'well, maybe I'll run two flat.'

 

"And then I'd go out and run 1:53 and kick myself for wasting so much time. I actually got to the point where I was looking up people and realized I was the fastest in the state and it got overwhelming for me."

 

Next up for Marshall is MileSplit stalking quarter-milers, as he opens his outdoor season this weekend with an open 400m and 4x400m leg at the Kingwood Zoe Simpson Invitational.

 

After that? He will go for the three-peat at the Texas State Championship, take another crack at New Balance Nationals and then it's off to the Ivy League.

 

Marshall will trade the Lone Star State for Cambridge, Mass. when he matriculates at Harvard University in the fall. The college decision is a relief after a dramatic recruiting period that saw him consider Penn State and Princeton.

 

He plans to major in microbiology.

 

"When I think about running [after high school], I think about running as fast as possible but that's not something I can necessarily rely on," Marshall said. "I definitely was never taught to rely on running as a means to make money. Both my parents ran professionally and my dad is a coach but my mom is an engineer. You have to make sure to cover your bases and prepare for the modern world.

 

"If I run professionally, I run professionally. But I'm just in it for the fun of it."