Celebrating his 17th birthday in style recently, Great Neck South junior, Terrance Livingston, finished a surprising third place at the Nike High School National Track and Field Championships at North Carolina A&T in Raleigh.

Running in the second of four heats of the 800 meters (slowest to fastest), Livingston ran the race of his career, drafting off the heat leader, before pulling away in the last 100 meters to finish with the stellar time of 1:50.80 -- lowering the district record of 1:53.01 he set a week ago in winning the New York State Championship.

Terrance had to wait nearly four hours for the last two sections of the 800 to finish before he knew his final place. He was removed from the top spot only in the final half-second of the final heat, as Joseph Franklin of Tallahassee, FL and Charles Jock of San Diego, CA, each crossed the line three-tenths of a second faster than Terrance. "I should have gone earlier," speaking of his race in hindsight. "I want that 1:49." But he added, "I got all-American, and that's not a bad birthday present for myself. I'm happy."