During one of the relay events at the Class 3A boys track and field Palatine Sectional, a Griffith followed a Griffith.
It was after the first leg of Lake Zurich’s 4×800-meter relay. Bears sophomore Brian Griffith ran his 800 meters. He then handed the baton to twin brother Kyle Griffith. The Griffith brothers set the pace for the third runner, senior Justin Shim, and last runner, sophomore Matt Pereira.
When Pereira crossed the finish line, the Bears’ time of 7 minutes, 55.69 seconds earned them a second-place medal and automatic berth in the state meet that begins Friday at Eastern Illinois in Charleston.
“You set your goals at the beginning of the season. To see all of your hard work pay off over winter training, it’s just an amazing feeling,” Brian Griffith said.
The sectional meet was the first time all year the Lake Zurich’s team ran together in the 4×800.
After Brian Griffith’s runner-up finish and Kyle Griffith’s sixth-place time in the 800 at the North Suburban Conference meet May 14, Bears coach Randy Dunbar made the decision to insert both into the 4×800.
“We were like, ‘Let’s do it,’ ” Dunbar said.
Brian Griffith added: “It shows just how hard we work together. I think we can adapt well in certain situations.”
It was Kyle Griffith (the older brother by four minutes) who first ran competitively in high school as a freshman. This fall, Brian Griffith joined his brother in cross country.
“I told Brian he should do it,” Kyle Griffith said.
Both were key contributors for the Bears Class 3A state-qualifying cross country team. Kyle Griffith’s times at sectionals and at the state meet were slightly better than Brian Griffith’s. In track, Brian Griffith has surpassed his brother.
Not only will Brian Griffith run a leg in the 4×800, he will also compete at state in the individual 800. His time of 1:55.95 placed him third at Palatine and was easily under the state-qualifying mark of 1:57.24.
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“There was a meet at the beginning of the season when [assistant coach JB Hanson] and I looked at each other and said, ‘He’s [Brian Griffith] pretty good,’ ” Dunbar said. “Brian has scored the most points for us this season. His brother is right there.”
Brian Griffith will not be the only Lake Zurich athlete competing in individual events at state. A year after storming out to sectional wins in the 1,600 and 3,200, Pereira won the 1,600 at Palatine with a time of 4:16.95. Pereira did not run the 3,200 this year as Dunbar chose to put him in the 4×800 relay.
As a team, Lake Zurich finished in sixth at Palatine (Lakes won).
On Friday, May 29, on the track at O’Brien Stadium in Charleston, the Bears will run in the 4×800 preliminaries. During the race, one Griffith will hand the baton to the other, two twin brothers united in sport.
“We push each other. I don’t think I’d be where I am if he didn’t run,” Kyle Griffith said.
Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @prepspioneer