Pellston speedster Laith Griffith to continue track and field career at Davenport

PELLSTON – Laith Griffith has always known he’s been fast.

Throughout his high school track and field career at Pellston High School, Griffith has proved it as one of the top sprinters in recent program history.

After qualifying for the state finals in the 400-meter dash as a sophomore two years ago, Griffith knew right then and there that he wanted to one day make an impact at the next level.

On Thursday, in front of many supporters inside Pellston’s gymnasium, Griffith officially announced that he’ll be continuing his track career by signing with Davenport University.

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“This is really special, especially with the people I got to share it with,” Griffith said. “My freshman year I was kind of planning on playing baseball, but with Covid and all that stuff that was happening, I decided, ‘You know what? I’ll do track,’ and I realized that I’m kind of good at it. I wanted an opportunity to take advantage of.”

After a strong junior season last spring, Griffith received interest from Davenport, where he eventually visited during the summer. Communicating with Davenport, he came away impressed with what they had to offer.

“I fell in love with their campus and program as a whole,” Griffith said. “I think with their program, if you look at their times, there was a big turnaround in times when their sprints coach (Tra’von Phillips) took over just a few years ago, so he definitely knows what he’s doing.”

Griffith’s decision comes during what’s been a terrific final season with Pellston. While the 400 was his main event a couple years ago, Griffith has primarily focused on and had success in the 100, 200, 4X100 and 4X200 relay events.

But if you ask his coach, there’s more than speed that Griffith brings to the Hornets.

“The great thing about Laith is he’s naturally gifted but he’s also a great teammate,” Pellston track coach Stephanie Vaughn said. “He’s grown into that senior leadership role, so I’m hoping that he carries that leadership to the college level."

While Davenport is in his future, Griffith said he still has unfinished business at Pellston. That means attempting to break some school records, including the 200, his favorite event.

“I’m within three-tenths of a second from breaking it, so hopefully I can get pretty close to it,” Griffith said. “If not, it is what it is, but it would definitely be cool.”

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Representing Pellston has been special for Griffith, who hopes to thrive on a much bigger stage in the Grand Rapids area. No matter what, he’ll always be thankful for the opportunity Pellston has provided him.

“I’ll miss it a lot because it’s a small community, smaller team, it’s really easy to bond together,” Griffith said. “My family can come to all my meets up here. Being able to run in front of my community is probably the biggest thing I’ll miss.”

Griffith said he intends to major in sports management while at Davenport.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Pellston track star Griffith to keep career going at Davenport