Like Mother, Like Son: Lake Fenton Grad Racing Forward for CMU

Parker Scott always had the genes.

Now he has the drive, and the results have surprised even him.

The 2010 grad didn’t start running track until his junior year, but now he is winning medals for Central Michigan University.

“I guess he gets his speed from his mom,” said Scott’s father, Steve Scott.

His mother, Jill (Thibault) Scott, still holds the 100-meter hurdle record at .

“She worked real hard and has been in my shoes,” Parker Scott said. “She loves it.”

Freshmen don’t always get to make big contributions on college sports teams. However, Scott has made quite an impact on the CMU track team.

He recently won two medals at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championship in DeKalb, IL. He took third place for the Chippewas in the 400 hurdles with a time of 54.76. He also helped the 4-x-400 relay team place second with a time of 3:16.74 at the meet.

“It felt awesome,” Scott said. “I didn’t expect to contribute to the team that much, but I went out and gave it what I had. As a freshman, it’s a big thing to get a medal. I was surprised.”

Scott achieved a personal best time of 53.55 in the 400 hurdles at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold meet in Tennessee, along with a first-place finish in March. He also placed second in the event at the Toledo Collegiate Challenge and the Lyle Bennett Open.

Scott received a personal invitation to participate in the USA Junior National Championships next month in Oregon.

“It’s been a big change,” Scott said. “Going on your own with the stress and the classes. It’s been real exciting, too. It’s been a big rush.”

His accomplishments are impressive on their own, but even more so since Scott has been running track for only three years. As a first-time participant as a junior at Lake Fenton High School, he broke school records in the 110 and 300 hurdles. He then broke his own records as a senior. He placed fourth at the Division 3 state meet in the 300 hurdles as a senior and fifth as a junior.

Scott plans to major in advertising at CMU — and he hopes to become even better on the track.

“I am very proud of his accomplishments,” his father said. “I don't think any other first-year freshman from CMU this year received two medals at the MAC Championship other than Parker.”