Pajak places second in Foot Locker national meet
Photo courtesy of PhotoRun.net
Future Notre Dame teammates Drew Griffith and Ryan Pajak ran one last high school cross country meet, and Griffith bested Pajak to win the 2023 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship in San Diego on Dec. 9.
Griffith, a senior at Butler High School, finished first with a time of 15:06.9. Ringgold’s Pajak crossed the finish line in 15:12.1.
Both runners worked their way through the national field, not moving into the lead until the final half-mile of the race.
Griffith was fourth and Pajak trailed by a second in 10th at the first split. Griffith slipped to seventh and Pajak was on his heels around a second behind at the mile mark.
Griffith and Pajak ran stride-for-stride in fifth place at the 1½-mile split, and the two remained in the same position at the two-mile mark, trailing leader Ty Steorts by three seconds.
The two future teammates remained three seconds behind Steorts with just over a half-mile left in the 5K race.
The two runners made their move in the final 400 meters as Griffith pushed into the lead and Pajak trailing by two seconds. Griffith maintained the time edge in the sprint to the finish.
Pajak bested Griffith in the Northeast Regional, crossing the finish line first in a course-record time of 14:51. Griffith was second with a time of 14:54.