It’s a little hard to believe that less than four years after trying to win track and field titles at local venues like Steinert High School and Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield, Jermaine Griffith may very well be attempting to do the same on the world’s grandest stage.
The 2013 Nottingham High School graduate is currently enjoying an outstanding career at Rutgers running sprints. Because he has dual citizenship in the United States and Ghana, Griffith is taking aim on making the Ghana Olympic team at this summer’s Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
On April 23, the junior ran a personal best 400 meter time of 45.76, taking second place at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta. The qualifying mark to make Ghana’s team is 45.4.
Griffith was born in the United States, but both his parents are from Ghana. Last summer, he gained his dual citizenship.
“I’m already in the process of going out for the team,” he said. “I’m definitely one of their No. 1 guys. I’m already in contact with the coach. I’m psyched to go to the Ghana trials on June 18. If I don’t already hit the qualifying mark by then, that will be just another chance for me to do it there. Hopefully, I’ll be in Olympics this summer.”
Being born and raised in the U.S., Griffith would obviously enjoy running for his homeland. But he feels fortunate to have a second option.
“You take what you can get,” he said, laughing. “I really wish I could have done that, but making the U.S team is extremely competitive. Based on my time and where I am now, my chances are not as good to make the U.S. team as they are with Ghana. With the American team, you’re not only competing with people around my age, you’re competing with runners who are already professional. If you’re not already in the top three in the country, it’s very difficult to make the U.S. team.”
That being said, competing in the Olympics for any country is a dream come true for a track athlete. For long-time Hamilton Township residents who remember Nottingham’s early days when the Northstars couldn’t produce an All-County performer let alone an Olympian, this is pretty exciting stuff.
As usual, however, Griffith is taking it all in stride.
“I ran a 45.8 last year at (NCAA) Nationals, and that’s when thoughts of the Olympics and running for the Ghana team really started,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s blowing my mind, but now it’s becoming more of a reality. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really get excited until it’s actually there. Now I’m more focused on keeping it a reality. I can’t really get ahead of myself.”
Griffith has several other opportunities to reach the qualifying time before the trials, including the Penn Relays, the Big Ten meet and the NCAA East Regionals.
“He can excel on a bigger stage,” Rutgers coach Mike Mulqueen said. “He is hoping to run internationally, and as long as he stays healthy and continues to work hard, he will continue to improve.”
Griffith showed what kind of potential he had while still at Nottingham. As a senior, he won three gold medals in the NJSIAA Group III Championships and went on to break his own school record in the 400 while taking third in the Meet of Champions.
He hit some health snags at Rutgers, taking a medical redshirt in his first indoor season due to an issue with his sciatic nerve. He came back to finish third in the American Athletic Conference Championship in the 400, and was an NCAA Regional Qualifier in the 400 and 4×400.
A second straight indoor season got wiped out when he suffered a hamstring injury in the season’s first meet, forcing him to sit out the entire winter.
Griffith made up for lost time last spring. He qualified for the NCAA Nationals with an 8th-place East Regional time of 45.82 He took fourth in the Big Ten Championships in 46.90, ran on the 4×400 championship team in the IC4A Division at the Penn Relays (3:11.34), won the Larry Ellis Invitational Champion and was the recipient of Rutgers’ prestigious Sonny Werblin Award, given to student-atheltes who either receive national recognition or win a national title.
He was disappointed with his trip to the nationals in Eugene, Oregon, despite making honorable mention All-America (which goes to all competitors who finish below the Top 12). It seems his Allegra wasn’t at its best that day.
“I did well at regionals, and then going to nationals was tough,” he said. “Oregon is very high in pollen, so when I got to Oregon, I was completely overtaken by allergies. I couldn’t breathe through my nose, I was sneezing, my nose was running. It was a really bad situation. I went from possibly finishing first-team or second-team All-American to getting Honorable Mention.”
It was a lesson learned for Griffith.
“I knew I could have done better, it was only because of the allergies,” he said. “This year, I’ll make sure I’m on meds before I get to Oregon. I’m probably going to wear a mask when I’m out there. The pollen out there is ridiculous. It’s way worse than here because of all the grass and trees out there. The pollen just keeps getting reproduced.”
Despite his tough finish, Griffith had arrived as a full-fledged college star. And with the chance to finally run indoors this past winter, he won the 500 meters (1:03.93) and was part of the winning 4×400 relay (3:14.72) at the Metropolitan Championships. He was an IC4A qualifier in both events. He also ran a 46.3, which is the Ghana indoor record for the 400.
“I’m very proud of that,” he said.
This spring, Griffith is building up to the major meets by laying off the 400. He won the event in 46.52 at the South Florida Bulls Invitational Mar. 17-18 but did not run it again until the Georgia Tech meet. In the meantime, he ran a PR of 10.38 in the 100 and was second in the 200 with a PR of 21.16 in the Colonial Relays. Both were IC4A qualifying marks.
“The goal this year was to be able to drop a good time early (in the 400) and then just chill and relax and focus on other things in my race, and then get back to it later in the season,” Griffith said. “Running the 400 over and over again can get really stressful on your legs. I do intervals but I don’t run the whole 400. I’ll work on different portions of my race and then I can put it all together on race day in the major meets.”
The Big Ten championships are May 13-15 in Nebraska, the Regional Championships are in Florida May 26-28 and the NCAAS are in Eugene June 8-11. Griffith hopes to win the Big Tens and get a Top 24 finish in the regionals to qualify for nationals again.
“He has been progressing really well,” Mulqueen said. “Our sprint coach, Lou Tomilinson has really developed Jermaine. I think he has some great running ahead of him as he gets older and stronger.”
Why does Griffith have such a bright future?
“He’s a hard worker,” Mulqueen said. “Getting to the NCAA meet as a sophomore last spring really opened his eyes and showed him what exactly he is capable of. He has a very nice, smooth running style. Also, he is well-coached. Lou Tomlinson is the best around and he has done a great job with Jermaine.”
Griffith had his eyes opened the moment he got to college, when he realized there was so much more to running than he ever imagined.
“Back at high school I would just run just to beat somebody,” he said. “Now there’s a whole strategy to follow each and every race. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It depends on where you are, it depends on the weather sometimes, and it depends on who you’re running against.”
One thing that remains consistent, no matter what the circumstances, is that Griffith is “running a lot more efficiently.”
“I don’t kick my legs back all the way because that wastes energy and that opens you to injury more,” he said. “You really have to watch the way I run to understand what I’m saving.”
He noted that at Nottingham, he would stride through the first 200 and turn it on during the second 200 and that would cost him at times. With Rutgers, he runs hard in the initial 200 to get the lead and attempts to hold it from there.
“It’s basically switched,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m going all out at the start, but nearly all out. I’m getting out a very high pace and then I’m able to hold on at the end.”
Due to his medical redshirt as a freshman, Griffith plans on staying at Rutgers for a fifth year. His tentative plan is to only run indoor track next season, and run both indoor and outdoor in 2017-18. After that he will explore professional track and, once his running days are over, he wants to put a criminal justice degree to work as either a state trooper or FBI agent.
There’s a lot of sprinting left between now and then, however, and Jermaine is loving every minute of it.
“I’ve very much surpassed what I expected to do here,” Griffith said. “I never thought I’d be where I am right now. I always had the hopes and dreams of being where I’m at but I never thought I’d be here at this point in my life.”
And if all goes according to plan, he may be loving life in Rio in a few short months.
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