Drew Griffith Is Our COROS Distance Runner Of The Year

Jul 09, 2024

* Butler's Drew Griffith was one of the most dominant distance runners in the high school ranks over the 2024 season

Photo Credit: Raymond Tran/MileSplit

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Two American high school distance runners were head-and-shoulders above the rest in 2024.

Their names were Drew Griffith and Daniel Simmons.

Very little separated the pair from one another this spring, even across races: Simmons beat Griffith in the 3,200m in April and Griffith took down Simmons in the mile in June.

So when it came to determining our COROS Distance Boys Runner of the Year, we simply had to go with our gut. Who had the best overall campaign across disciplines?

Our answer was Griffith, who became the 22nd high schooler to break four in the mile and ran the second-fastest 2-mile in history, clocking a time of 8:31.46 at Brooks PR on June 12. His mile performance, one of two under four on the season from the runner out of Pennsylvania, was the fifth-fastest in history, with his time of 3:57.72 now one of only six in history under 3:58.

The Notre Dame recruit, our No. 4 athlete on the MileSplit50 to end the year, was a prototypical distance runner, racing everything from the 800m to the 2-mile.

He logged a personal best time of 1:52.05 in the 800m, won two state PIAA Class AAA championships in the 1,600m and 3,200m, and finished the year with a national win in the mile at New Balance Nationals Outdoor, carrying one other athlete -- Zach Hillhouse -- under four minutes alongside him.

Griffith was unquestionably the top dog in the mile this year, having clocked four times under 4:04 on the year, including an effort of 4:03.35 at the Penn Relays in April. He ran 4:00.77 on April 17 on his home track, coming through the 1,600m split in under four minutes.

Over the course of the season, he broke state records in the 1,600m, mile, 3,200m and 2-mile distances.

While he lost one of his first races of the year at the Arcadia Invitational to Simmons -- who ran a winning time of 8:34.96 -- Griffith came back to run faster than anyone in history in the 3,200m at Brooks PR. His en route time of 8:28.64 is technically a national record, surpassing Simeon Birnbaum's en route time from June 14 in 2023.

Simmons had a great season, too, clocking a national record in the 5K in 13:25.86 and winning some big races. He was our fifth-ranked athlete to end the 2024 season.

But in a difficult decision, we went with Griffith.