‘Loud and crazy’ invite crowd sees Butler record-setter Drew Griffith nearly run 4-minute mile on his home track

By: Chris Harlan

Friday, April 19, 2024 | 11:03 PM

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In meets from Boston to Los Angeles, record-setting runner Drew Griffin has wowed crowds from coast to coast over the past six weeks.

On Friday, a crowd wowed him.

The Butler senior marveled at the enthusiasm he felt from fans, coaches and fellow athletes as he nearly broke the 4-minute mile on his home track in an audacious effort that fell a fraction of a second short. The clock showed 4:00.77 when Griffith crossed the finish line to win the inaugural Hartman Memorial Mile at the Butler Invitational, posting a time that ranks best in the nation among high school boys this spring.

“That was a pretty special race,” Griffith said. “The atmosphere here was just insane. I wasn’t even expecting it to be that loud and crazy.”

Butler boys coach Mike Seybert admitted to having butterflies in his stomach when the crowd rose to its feet and Griffith sprinted toward the line. Seybert described the home stretch as “a tunnel of noise” that Griffith ran through.

“I’ve been coming here for the last 39 years,” Seybert said, “and I’ve never heard a crowd that loud.”

Griffith became a track and field star last month when he broke the national indoor record for the 2-mile run at a meet in Boston, but on Friday was determined to put on a show for his hometown fans. The 1,600 meters is the near-equivalent event that’s traditionally run at the Butler Invitational, but Griffith said he asked if they could add the slightly longer mile run to the schedule.

“He asked to come and do it in front of his home crowd,” Seybert said. “He thought, one, that would be motivational, and, two, this is his home. He thought he needed to do it here.”

Meet organizers named the new race in memory of the late Ed Hartman, a standout athlete at Butler in multiple sports. Hartman, a 1979 graduate and former MVP of the Butler Invitational, was killed by a drunk driver at age 22. His name once stood as Butler’s 1,600-meter record holder for 40 years.

“Eddie was a magical person and athlete,” said Seybert, a track teammate of Hartman’s. “There was no one like him. … It was so appropriate that this mile is going to be in Ed’s name.”

Seybert said there are plans to memorialize the event by adding Hartman’s name near the newly added starting line for the mile. Near the finish line, Seybert said they’ll also add Griffith’s winning time in small print.

“If you want to beat it, there’s your goal,” Seybert said.

Griffith’s top competitor was Hampton’s Dale Hall, who won the state 1,600-meter title over him a year ago. This time, however, Griffith ran his first two laps in under two minutes and steadily pulled away over the final half mile.

For the last two laps, Griffith was racing only the clock.

“There’s definitely that part of me that says, ‘Point seven?’ That’s like just the snap of a finger,” Griffith said. “That’s really quick. But I have to be happy with that (time). I can’t sulk around with what I ran out there. I’m happy regardless.”

Griffith will take another run at breaking the 4-minute mark next week at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. The boys mile is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 26.

He said he wasn’t sure whether he’d run any more invitational meets in Western Pennsylvania this spring. But this one in Butler was incredibly important to him.

“It means everything to me,” Griffith said. “The community here is so amazing and they’ve supported me through everything I’ve done the past four years. I couldn’t have asked for a better hometown.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at [email protected].

Tags: Butler