The Etrain 11: The Grass Is Always Greener

By Jarrett Felix

In the heart of District One Pennsylvania, I took many elements of my high school track and field experience for granted. When we needed to do a workout, we would walk up the steps to our track. When we were looking for a fast time or elite competition, we would go to an invitational. If I showed up to practice, I always had a group of guys with which I could run and train. I never thought twice about any of these facts of my life. In fact, I would bet most of the time I was complaining about the crummy condition of our track. Or the fact that there was too much competition in District One.

But thousands of kids would gladly swap places with me. At the AA and A schools state wide, there is limited competition, limited funding and limited support. Something as basic as a track or a coach can be a foreign concept. This makes the achievements of some of these runners all the more impressive.

Perhaps the ultimate example of these obstacles is Griffin Molino of South Williamsport. Molino has won the past two A Cross Country State Championships despite the fact that his school does not even have a cross country team. This past fall he ran a 15:46 which, for a brief moment, was the #2 mark all-time on the Hershey Parkview course. He had a margin of victory of 12 seconds over second place. As a Junior he ran 15:54, winning the title by 31 seconds. On the track he has run everything from 1:55 to 9:17 while overcoming a series of (metaphorical) hurdles.

As is the case with many runners, Molino did not begin high school looking to become a track and field stand-out, instead the sport found him: “In middle school we always had a track and field day and I always seemed to be a lot better at the longer distances for whatever reason (…) once I entered junior high, I kind of forgot about running until wrestling season ninth grade year when I would have to run at night to try to lose weight. At the time, it was really weird because I actually looked forward to running at nights to lose weight.

But what finally got me to run was when my best friend broke his neck during wrestling season and asked me to come out for track, it was something I couldn’t say no to.”

He quickly took to the sport and as just a sophomore, Molino placed 8^th at the state championships in cross country, just a second behind two-time mile state champion Ryan Smathers. After being exposed to so many aspects of the sport, he was hooked.

“I really just love running to be honest, I love all the races … On the track I love having opportunities to run all different kinds of distances, anything from 400 to two miles … I mean 400 and 800’s are like sprints from me but they are a lot of fun!”

After winning his first state title in the fall of 2013, Molino made a big breakthrough on the track, clocking a 4:12.9 in the 1600m. As he puts it, “There is nothing better than running a blazing fast mile, because the first thing anyone asks you as a distance runner is ‘what’s your mile time?’”

But it wasn’t always easy. The disadvantages of a small school program took their toll on training. “At South Williamsport there are many obstacles regarding running. We don’t have a track, nor do we have a cross country team, and we don’t really get a lot of support in the community even though we’re pretty good in track.”

As a Junior, Molino’s excellent season came grinding to a halt after an incredible 1:55-4:17-9:28-52.0 quadruple at his league championships. “Then I just fell apart … the 55 races I had run before districts caught up to me and then another quad at districts just trashed me for states.”

With a small team and little support, the pressure on Molino to win races and score team points was immense. Plus, his opportunities for training partners were reduced by the school’s limited resources. “It has been tough because at times the only training partner I’ve had is my coach, which gets boring after a while.”

But perhaps what has hurt training the most is the amount of miles Molino has had to log on concrete over the years. Although his coach has worked hard to get on soft surfaces, it’s not always possible without a track and other program resources. As a result, Griffin suffered a stress fracture during his Senior year cross country season.

After missing the Nike Northeast Regional Meet and indoor track, Molino was able to return to form in the spring. Despite lower mileage and reduced training time, Griffin still earned multiple medals at the state championship, including a hard fought silver in the 3200m against Dominic Hockenbury.

The individual accolades he has amassed over the years are countless, but when asked about his success Griffin’s answers tend to steer clear of his own work. Coming from a small school, he has enjoyed the opportunities he has had to be a part of a team and race on some strong relays.

“My sophomore and junior year we had some good 4x800’s we ran 7:58 and 8:01 respectively. Honestly the 4x800 is my favorite race so I was all for the team. I was also on a 3:25 4x400 team which was pretty awesome too.

I think there is a community with the small school kids because we all have to battle it out every day with little support and poor facilities. So we’re able to relate to each other a lot better.”

Molino is also quick to acknowledge he did not get to this point on his own and is eager to thank those who have helped him along the way. When you are getting less support from school it is important to have parents, coaches and volunteers who are willing step up and fill in the gaps. “I have to give major props to my coaches because they’re phenomenal, they volunteer to be cross country coaches and they really have put so much time into me as a runner and I wouldn’t be where I am today without those guys.”

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Molino’s resume is one of the best in state history, especially in cross country. Under the current layout, Molino is one of just four runners to break 16 minutes twice on the Hershey course. Molino is the only person to clock both sub 16 minute marks with a double-digit margin of victory. In the past 9 years, only two runners have claimed multiple state golds in XC regardless of division: Molino and Tony Russell, considered perhaps PA’s best ever. Molino also ran 15:18 at Paul Short this year (the 2^nd fastest time ever by a PA runner for this meet) and 15:55.2 at Bowdoin Park (2^nd on the PA All-Time list to Russell).

Despite this excellent resume, the lack of opportunities for overlap with many of PA’s biggest stars has, often times kept Molino out of the spotlight. “I do think the smaller schools get devalued, I get that to get a medal in A is easier than AAA, but there are a ton less kids so I mean it should be … My times at states in xc have been up there with the winners of the other races which I hope people can see and think to themselves wow I wonder what he’d do in a race with those guys.”

All the more reason to add a meet of champions right? And it appears, Griffin has my back as he added parenthetically, “meet of champs would be cool, I know you always push for that.”

Griffin is clearly a competitor and loves to have the opportunity to prove himself against the other top runners in the state. He has made trips well outside the district to Lehigh and West Chester Henderson in pursuit of great competition. Personality wise, it’s clear that he is a steadfast competitor. 

“Racing the best guys is what it’s about you know? They are my favorite types of races especially when I’m in good shape because when I am, I feel I can run with the best of them. I think I’m continually growing as a runner, but big races with lots of really good competition is what seems to help me out the most, it shows me where I’m at and where I need to improve moving forward. I’m super pumped (for Syracuse next year)! It is a great team and I think it is the right place for me to continue to get better and hopefully be a top tier runner in the coming years.”

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Every runner will face different obstacles in their career. Some small school students will have advantages large school students will not, but the opposite is certainly true as well. When considering changes to the system or critiques of state qualifying, it is important to remember there are stories much complicated than a few numbers that are at work.

Regardless of how your program is set up, I think it is important to praise the characteristics of runners that lead to success. Competitiveness, resiliency, and a certain humble confidence are the qualities of runners like Griffin Molino that transcend the simple small school-large school classification system. And remind us what it truly means to excel in the world of distance running.