Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Towson University Athletics

Scoreboard

Now Loading: Women's Cross Country
Erika Griffith Graphic

Women's Cross Country

Crossing the Finish Line with Erika Griffith

TOWSON, Md. – TowsonTigers.com caught up with senior Erika Griffith while she and the Tigers were preparing for the season's second cross country meet, the Cappy Anderson Invitational hosted by UMES in Princess Anne, Md. this Saturday morning.

Erika's times dropped significantly during her junior year and she's looking for a strong finish to her collegiate career this season.
TowsonTigers.com: Since arriving at Towson what has been your athletic goal?
Erika Griffith: “When I first came to Towson my freshman year, my main goal was to reach my potential as a distance runner. I wanted to run faster and feel stronger in cross country and beat my 5k and 3k times on the track from high school. I knew that I was going to get much better distance training here at Towson than I did in high school because collegiate running is a big step up and I was able to specialize in distance running and not have to worry about being thrown in a mile or 800 like I did in high school. My goal was simple: beat my personal records from high school and keep improving as I got older.”
 
TT.com: Last year you rewrote all of your personal records, ducking under the 19:00 mark in the 5K for the first time (best of 18:48) as well as breaking the 23:00 barrier in the 6K (22:38). You also scored in every meet for the Tigers. What's made the difference in your running?
EG: “I think I can attribute my success last year to my summer training before last cross country season. I increased my mileage a bit and made sure to get in quality runs and stick to the running routine as much as I could. I put in a lot of hard work over the summer and I definitely think it paid off. During all three seasons I continued to work hard and I set some pretty high goals for myself and for the most part, I reached them. I didn't quite reach my 5k goal for spring track because I was injured for most of indoor but I was still able to come back that spring and run my best time on the track, so I can't complain. I also really listened to my body. When something didn't feel right, I treated it and rested. I didn't want to take any chances with getting another injury.:

TT.com: Hard to tell coming off the Baltimore Metro Meet last week since the course at McDaniel measured a tad longer than 5K and it was hilly, but were you satisfied with your time (20:17) and your place (13th and 5th for the Tigers)?
EG: “Honestly, I was not satisfied at all with my race. Yes, I was able to score for the team but I know I could have done a lot better and placed much higher if I ran what I know I am capable of. My legs were not feeling good during the week leading up to the race and on race day. I still have to get into "race shape" because my summer training consisted mostly of distance runs with a few tempo runs here and there. I think that once I get some speed back in my legs and shake out the soreness from getting back into the swing of things, I expect my performances to start improving.”

TT.com: This is it, your senior year. Has your collegiate experience lived up to your expectations or are you still chasing them?
EG: “To be honest, I don't know where the past 3 years have gone. My time here at Towson has just flown by but I have really enjoyed myself. I've met some great people who will remain lifelong friends, I've been able to study a field that fascinates me and I have competed in a sport that I love. Not many college students get the experience that I have gotten as a student-athlete and I have a lot of memories to look back on as I move forward in life. I love college and Towson was the perfect choice for me. I still have one year left though and I plan to make the best of it.”
 
TT.com: Coach Erricker admits he's never seen anyone attack the academics with more energy than you. You're carrying a 3.967 grade point average as an exercise science major. How do you balance the running and the studying?
EG: “Balancing my academics, athletics and social life is not an easy thing to do by any means. There have been plenty of days where I am on campus for 12 hours going to class, practice, lifting, tutoring and meetings. Like anyone else, I have my moments where I stress out to the point of wanting to give up but when those moments pass, I always get my work done. Being an athlete limits the amount of free time I have to do work but it actually makes me manage my time more efficiently. I know how many hours during the day I have to do work so I take advantage of every minute whether that means studying notes as I'm getting treatment in the athletic training room or doing work on the bus ride to and from meets on the weekend. It's very rare to see me on campus during the day just sitting around doing nothing. It has never been easy to go through the past three years like this but I have very high expectations for myself academically as well as athletically and I will do everything in my power to make sure I meet them, even if it means studying on campus all the time and looking like a nerd.”

TT.com: Your ambition is to be an exercise physiologist. What does an exercise physiologist do?
EG: “Exercise physiologists study the short term responses of the body to physical exercise as well as the long term adaptations the body makes as a result of regular exercise. There are a wide range of career paths an exercise physiologist can take but I want to focus on clinical research in the field and eventually teach at a university later down the line. I am currently looking for masters programs in exercise physiology with an emphasis in research and the more I look into it the more excited I am to begin my specialization in the field. Of course, this is my plan at this point in time and is likely to change if I discover more opportunities in exercise physiology that interest me more. However, I had an internship in Cardiology Research at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center this summer and really enjoyed everything about it, so research in exercise physiology has grabbed my attention.”
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Erika Griffith

Erika Griffith

Runner
5' 5"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Erika Griffith

Erika Griffith

5' 5"
Senior
Runner