Drew Griffith leading the chase pack - Photo by Raymond Tran
Six Pennsylvanians competed at the Champs National Cross Country Championships yesterday (12/10).
Drew Griffith (Butler) and Ryan Pajak (Ringgold) ran to All-American honors at yesterday's championship. Both employed different strategies but enjoyed similar results.
Griffith was determined to stake his claim as one of the best distance runners in the nation. He made that evident by running at the front early. He was the only Pennsylvania runner to take that approach and ran in the top five for most of the race. He faded slightly to eighth but maintained his position amongst the nation's elite runners. He crossed the line at 15:14.
Pajak was one of the few to go out more conservatively. He was positioned in 27th after the first mile, but he methodically moved up. Specifically, he moved significantly well up the Balboa course hill on the first loop. Right after the first mile, the course arcs up a challenging gradient.
The western PA native used that to his advantage and advanced eight positions over the next half mile. Over the rest of the race, he snared another six spots and finished in 12th with a 15:22. He was the third Northeast region runner to finish.
Notably, both Griffith and Pajak are juniors. They'll have another crack at the national-level competition next year.
Brian DiCola (Hatboro Horsham), Colin Whitaker (Lampeter Strasburg), and TJ Roden (Central Dauphin) also represented the state and Northeast region at Champs Sports. They finished in 21st, 32nd, and 33rd, respectively. They completed what has been an extraordinary cross-country season for Pennsylvania.
The Northeast Region finished second in the Boys' Team Race.
Natalie McLean - Photo by Raymond Tran
On the girls' side, the Northeast Region rolled to a dominant victory. The pace went out swiftly, and Natalie McLean (Pine Richland) ran well to stay connected to the group early. She ran consistently and capped a fantastic senior season with a 30th-place finish at the National Meet.
The 3A State Champ came through the first mile in 5:31 and maintained her position throughout the race.
The eventual winner, Karrie Baloga (NY), ran a 16:49.2. That mark is the eighth fastest time in meet history.
75% of those who participated in our Preview Poll, correctly predicted a Northeast Region win at Champs.
