* Griffith at the PIAA Championship, enroute to an NFHS record in the 1600m.
Photo by Phil Grove.
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At the Brooks PR Invitational, phenom Drew Griffith continued his historic onslaught by posting the second fastest 2-Mile in High School History, an 8:31.46.
Griffith stayed calm through the opening four laps, and split a modest 4:25. He took the lead with 1000m to go and willed himself forward. He covered his final 1600m in an unbelievable 4:06.
Patrick Koon was second in 8:34.82 and Nathan Neil was third in 8:36.73. Paul Bergeron joined them under 8:40 with his 8:39.37.
Ryan Pajak of Ringgold finished in sixth with his 8:44.20.
With the run, Drew Griffith moved to the US No. 2 All-Time Rank, just ahead of Simeon Birnbaum and Connor Burns who ran 8:34.10 and 8:34.33 last year. On that list, Griffith is just behind Lukas Verzbicas, who is widely considered as one of the best high school distance runners in US High School history.
Verzbicas ran 8:29.46 at the 2011 Prefontaine Classic.
Whats Next for Griffith?
Griffith will run the Championship Boys Mile at New Balance Nationals on Saturday. The race is set for 6:15 PM at Franklin Field.
On May 30th, Griffith broke 4-minutes in the full mile and posted a 3:57.72. That was the fifth fastest mile in HS history. Can he continue to climb the all-time list?