Making it to state is a dream of many student-athletes in any sport let alone an individual sport like cross country. But for one one Lewis Cass runner that dream is now a reality. I am referring to cross country runner, Aftin Griffin. Aftin has been the number one runner on the girls’ varsity cross country for two years, and I sat down with her and talked about her amazing run to state.

I first sat down with Aftin´s coach, Mrs. Rush, and asked her a few questions about Aftin. When asked how long Coach Rush has been coaching, she replied, ¨This is my twentieth year of coaching, I coached four years at West Central High School, seven years at Lake Central High School, and this is my ninth year at Lewis Cass.¨ and with that many years of coaching at Lewis Cass, we asked Coach Rush many LCXC runners have made state? If any? She replied This is my third runner to qualify for state. Miah Martin qualified twice in 2016, and 2017 and Makenna Leicht qualified in 2021.¨ This led me to the next question, how does Aftin compare to the others? Mrs. Rush said, ¨Aftin is right up there with Miah and Makenna in that she works hard like they did at the practice and pushes herself to the point where she gives everything. She has and is only a sophomore, which is awesome. She has put more miles in during the off-season and in the summer already. I don’t like to compare my runners, as they all have great qualities that make them great runners. Based on practice, Aftin is running just as fast if not faster in some workouts. I believe she will keep improving each year as she is gaining race strategy, confidence, and understanding workouts, and we can put in more mileage. She is special in that as a sophomore she is confident at the starting line and not afraid to get out at the start.¨ Finally, when asked what her most memorable moment was with Aftin this season, she said, “There are many memories with Aftin, but more importantly my memories consist of her character and how she treats others and acts in winning and losing. She is humble and tells others good job and celebrates their achievements. She loves her team and being around them. This year, she has had many great races and finishes. If you could have seen her finish at Caston this year, that is my most memorable, and then seeing her race at the Sectional and Regional Race. She races with such determination that is inspiring.¨

Next, we sat down with the Terre Haute bound runner herself, Aftin Griffin. My first question for Aftin was when she first started running. Aftin replied, ¨I started running in kindergarten when my mom signed me up for the Fun Run. She made me train for it a whole month before the race.¨ Aftin is a three-sport athlete here at Cass She runs cross country, track, and plays basketball. So I asked her out of the three which is your favorite she said, ¨Track is my favorite. I am best at track, so I guess that’s why it’s my favorite. I like how I can run to win up to four events in track. If I do badly in one race, I can have another chance to win in another event.¨ That answer led me to my next question. You excel at CC and track, but one is distance and one is sprints, which do you prefer? Why? She replied, ¨I prefer sprints. I’m better at them and it comes a lot easier and more natural to me than distance. It’s also a lot less running than cross country, so that’s a plus.¨
Being an underclassman with so many accolades already must bring a lot of good memories. When asked what her greatest accomplishment is so far in running? Aftin said, “¨Breaking two high school records, the 400 and 200, has been my greatest accomplishment in running. When I first saw the times before my freshman track season, I thought they would be impossible for me to break, but now I just want to keep breaking them and improve my time. I also want to go for the 100 record next. Making it to state in cross country has also been a great accomplishment for me this year seeing how I was not even close to making it to state last year.¨ When asked about her future plans after high school. She told me she wanted to go to college after high school. She is not sure what she wants to major in in college, but she said hopefully it will be something she will enjoy. Afin hopes to get a scholarship at a good school to run track. When asked if she planned on making state a yearly tradition Griffin said, ¨As long as I improve time-wise each year, I could see myself going to state these next couple of years too.¨

So this Saturday you should drive down south to Terre Haute, to watch Lewis Cass´s very own Aftin Griffin run at The State Finals. If you can not drive, sign up for the fan bus in the office. Best of luck to Aftin Griffin! Bring home a new PR!