Butler’s Drew Griffith, Mt. Lebanon’s Logan St. John Kletter defend state indoor titles in mile

By: Michael Love
Monday, February 26, 2024 | 12:03 PM

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Drew Griffith initially was ruled ineligible to run in Sunday’s boys one mile event at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association championship meet at Penn State.

The Butler senior distance star and Notre Dame commit had a performance time entered that was achieved at a meet which included competitors who were beyond high school graduation.

PTFCA has a rule that prevents such entry times from being accepted for the state meet.

However, that ruling was later reversed, and Griffith was allowed to defend his 2023 mile championship.

The second chance was not wasted.

Griffith dominated the field of 21 runners in the mile, winning with a meet-record time of 4 minutes, 2.19 seconds, more than eight seconds better than runner-up Ryan Pajak, a senior from Ringgold and Griffith’s future teammate at Notre Dame.

The time also was five seconds faster than his state title win last year (4:07.24).

Griffith, who nearly set a national record in the indoor 3,200 the weekend of Feb. 17, will run one more indoor meet before turning his attention to the outdoor season. He will compete in either the mile or two miles at the New Balance Indoor Nationals on March 7-10 in Boston.

Griffith’s second straight mile state title and Pajak’s runner-up finish, 2.63 seconds clear of third place, highlighted a number of standout performances from WPIAL athletes on Sunday.

North Allegheny junior Jack Bertram won the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:30.35, three seconds faster than runner-up Jonathan Hess, a junior from Lewisburg Area in District 4.

Griffith also ran the anchor for the state-title winning Butler distance medley relay that ran to the win in a time of 10:16.56. State College was second (10:19.22).

Mt. Lebanon senior Luke Cramer earned a fourth-place medal in the triple jump with a top successful attempt of 46 feet, 3/4 inch.

Fox Chapel senior Mason Miles, who set a school record in the shot this year, placed fourth in the event Sunday with a best toss of 56-3½.

On the girls side, Mt. Lebanon senior Logan St. John Kletter made it a WPIAL sweep in the one mile run as she ruled the track in a time of 4:43.17, more than 10 seconds clear of runner up Olivia Cieslak, a junior from Haverford Township (4:53.59).

It was St. John Kletter’s third consecutive state title in the mile.

The WPIAL had four runners place in the top eight in that event as North Allegheny juniors Wren Kucler and Robin Kucler took fourth and fifth, respectively, and West Allegheny sophomore Grace Fritzman was eighth in the 20-runner event.

Wren and Robin Kucler went 1-2, respectively, in the 3,000 meters. Wren ran 9:51.56, edging out Robin who ran 9:53.38.

The Mt. Lebanon girls distance medley relay gave St. John Kletter a second title this year. It also produced a WPIAL sweep in the event, joining the Butler boys as champions of the event.

It was a close stretch run to the title for the Blue Devils as their time of 12:16.13 was 1.29 seconds ahead of runner-up Mt. St. Joseph Academy.

Canon-McMillan senior Rose Kuchera leaped 18-1¾ in the long jump to finish fourth overall. She added a seventh in the triple jump (37-1).

Hempfield senior Grace Iwig also got in the medal-winning act with a bronze in the pole vault (12-6).

Iwig’s Spartans teammate Katherine Dolinski, a junior, brought home a fourth-place medal in the shot put (37-4¾).

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Butler, Canon-McMillan, Fox Chapel, Hempfield, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, West Allegheny