Griffith Takes Lead On Final Hill Climb And Holds Off Future College Teammate To Win Foot Locker Title

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

John Nepolitan photo (finish), Ken Martinez photo (hill)

Drew Griffith and Ryan Pajak will have plenty of chances to rehash Saturday's Foot Locker Cross Country boys championship race. 

The pair from Pennsylvania, future teammates at Notre Dame, have been running in tandem all season. 

And in the final moments at Balboa Park in San Diego, it was Griffith taking command on the second ascent of defining hill climb, and then holding off Pajak's kick to the finish line. 

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Pennsylvania never had a boys champion at Foot Locker before. But Griffith, who won in 15:06.9 and Pajak (15:12.1) gave the state a 1-2 finish on the 5-kilometer layout. 

"I'm super pumped to be able to come through and pull off a race like this. It's a huge blessing," Griffith said. "I wouldn't have wanted to go 1-2 with anybody else. And if I would have gotten second, I wouldn't want it to have been anyone else (winning)."

Griffith was eighth in last year's CHAMPS Sports Cross County Championships (same race, different title sponsor) and was the second-highest placing returner. 

He knew very well that the race could be won or lost on the second hill climb. 

"Experience from last year was a big help," Griffith said. 

Despite running two seconds slower than Pajak in separate races at the Pennsylvania state meet, and finished second to him at the Foot Locker Northeast regional, Griffith put himself in better position for the final hill climb. 

Out of the gate, Colin Eckerman from Knoxville, Tenn. led the first mile as the runners behind him remained bunched together. 

Then Ty Steorts from Hurricane, W.Va. cut loose on the first downhill along Upas Street and shot into the lead seven minutes into the race. And Steorts, a junior, kept the pressure on by pushing through the bottom part of the course. He led for six minutes. 

As the runners approached the final hill, the pack caught Steorts and Griffith made his push to get into the lead. Cresting over the top, he had built a margin of several seconds. 

"That second hill is where the meet is made every single time," Griffith said. "Just tried to stay patient for that, and then put it on."

Pajak closed to within two and a half seconds on the final straightaway before easing off and finished 5.2 seconds back. 

"I definitely wanted to win at the end of the day, but I'm thankful for the experience. It's such a good field," Pajak said. "I've been training for this race all year."

Tamrat Gavenas, a junior from Andover, Mass., completed a top-three sweep for the Northeast with his finish in 15:16.6.

Berkley Nance from Richmond, Va., who was on Griffiths' heels on the final descent, finished fourth in 15:17.5. 

West Virginia duo Brayden Marshall (Winfield, W.Va.) and Steorts, frequent training partners, finished fifth and sixth, respectively. 

Paul Bergeron from Westford, Mass., 15th a year ago, finished seventh. 

And Cameron Todd of Indianapolis, second at Nike Cross Nationals last week and sixth in San Diego in 2022, was eighth. Todd was the only male competitor in the country to finish in the top 10 in both national finals in consecutive weeks.

Despite its 1-2-3 finish, the South edged out the Northeast for the team title on a tiebreaker after both groups scored 38 points.

The South went 4-5-6-11-12 and had eight runners ahead of the West's No. 1. 

Griffith was the first winner from the Northeast region since Edward Cheserek (2011-12), ending the Midwest's streak of victories at five. 

The previous best finish by a Pennsylvanian was second by Mike Connelly in 1982. Only four previous runners from Pennsylvania had finished in the top five. 

Top Finishers From Pennsylvania

Mike Connelly, 1981 (fifth)

Mike Connelly, 1982 (second)

Paul Vandegrift, 1986 (fourth)

Michael McWilliams, 1988 (sixth)

Michael McWilliams, 1989 (fourth)

Christopher Dugan, 1996 (sixth)

Danny Coval, 1999, (seventh)

Noah Affolder, 2016 (sixth)

Patrick Anderson, 2019 (third)

* Drew Griffith, 2023 (first)

* Ryan Pajak, 2023 (second)