May 25, 2024 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

SHIPPENSBURG — Drew Griffith and Ryan Pajak are not going to be college roommates at Notre Dame.

And no, it’s not because the two have battled during their high school careers with Griffith having the upper-hand this season in winning the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs over Pajak in Class 3A boys at the PIAA Track & Field Championships that concluded Saturday at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.

“Notre Dame assigns random roommates, or you can just not have a roommate, but we won’t be rooming together,” Pajak said. “But there is not any kind of animosity or bad blood between us.”

Griffith dominated from the start of the 1,600 on Friday to break a 23-year-old national high school record with a time of 3:57.08. Pajak finished second in a personal record (PR) of 4:04.72.

“I wasn’t expecting him to do that yesterday,” Pajak said. “I thought maybe four-flat or 3:59, but that was amazing.”

Griffith broke the record of Alan Webb, who set the mark as a member of South Lakes High School in Reston, Va. in 2001 with a time of 3:59.51. Webb went on to become an Olympian for the United States in the 1,500 at the Athens Summer Games in 2004.

Pajak ran stride-for-stride with Griffith for the first 1,600 of Saturday morning’s race before Griffith took the lead on the fifth lap en route to a state-record time of 8:43.72. Pajak came in a little less than 11 seconds later in 8:54.16.

“He (Griffith) had a huge surge of about five meters, and I just tried to stay where I was at,” Pajak said. “I kind of treated that race like a workout rather than an actual race.

“I don’t want to doubt anything, but I knew he had the upper-hand coming in. I’m not trying to discourage myself, but I kind of reflected on this race to get better in general.”

Pajak was within striking distance of Griffith even after he lost the lead, but a split time of 1:09.49 on the seventh lap hindered his chance to make a comeback. He ran 1:05.06 on his final lap.

Unlike the 1,600, Pajak didn’t hit his PR in the 3,200, as he ran a 8:38.02 at the Arcadia Invitational in Arcadia, Calif., on April 6. Griffith was just ahead of Pajak in 8:37.43.

“I didn’t even get close to my PR today,” Pajak said. “The weather wasn’t ideal and yesterday’s race took a real toll on me. I don’t like the heat. I like cold weather when I’m running.”

The Arcadia Invitational is known as the “Home of National Records,” and it didn’t disappoint as Griffith and Pajak suffered rare defeats to champion Daniel Simmons of American Fork in Utah.

Simmons set the national mark in 8:34.96. Nathan Neil of Bozeman, Mont., was second in 8:35.32 before Griffith and Pajak crossed the finish line.

Despite an incredible career in track & field that included a senior season where he ran the second fastest time in the state, the fourth fastest in the United States in the outdoor season and the 11th-best time ever for an American in high school in the 3,200, Pajak didn’t capture any gold medals, which two of those setbacks can be attributed to his future college teammate.

Pajak doesn’t dwell on not winning a state title in track & field, and is looking forward to his time at Notre Dame, where he could be running 5 and 10Ks on the track.

“I would rather have solid competition than not any at all because it helps you to run better, and winning is not really everything when you think about it,” Pajak said.

Pajak will compete for the Fighting Irish in cross country, and he likes his chances on the rougher terrain and the changes in elevation that cross country presents.

Pajak won the PIAA Class 2A championship in cross country in a course-record time of 15:21 in Hershey. Griffith won the title in Class 3A in 15:23.

“I am happy I got one state title, and that was cross country,” Pajak said. “I would really be kind of upset if I didn’t win at least one.”

Pajak has been consistent since his freshman year, as he qualified for states in the 3,200 as a freshman in 2021. He was the only ninth grader to compete in the race and was 11th in 9:25.

He was fifth (9:06) as a sophomore and has been runner-up the last two years. Pajak ran an 8:48 last season in the 3,200 at states.

Pajak ran 4:26 in the 1,600 as a freshman and 4:18 as a sophomore before placing third last year in 4:09.

“I have improved each year, and I hope that I can continue that in college,” Pajak said. “I was a huge baseball and basketball guy, but then running came along and I went with that.”