Rowe's meter is running

PANAMA CITY BEACH — At 6-foot-4 and 15 years old, Griffin Rowe logically expected basketball to be his sport of focus.

Until recently.

The rising sophomore at Arnold High School had an epiphany while competing in track and field last spring as a ninth-grader, and is pushing the envelope this summer competing in AAU events.

His fourth-place finish in the age 15-16 division last weekend in the state meet has qualified Rowe to run the 3000 meters at the AAU national meet July 31 through Aug. 2 in Norfolk, Va.

“It’s running now,” Rowe said. “Up until this year it was basketball, but I think I have more potential in running.”

Possibly not in distance events, but Rowe plans to compete in nationals to help gauge his progress.

“I think it would be a nice experience to run with the caliber of people that are going to be there,” Rowe said. “After this last season I decided it would be nice to keep competing. I asked some of my teammates about AAU track.”

Rowe competed mostly on relays for the Marlins, usually running 400 and 800 meters. He indicated that the speed work for those races may have helped his finishing kick in only his second attempt at running 3000 meters. He was timed in 10 minutes, 59 seconds at Florida State’s facility last weekend.

Although he’s a member of Arnold’s cross country team, he doesn’t feel that longer distances showcase his potential. Then again, he didn’t exactly blaze a trail when introduced to the sport.

Rowe said that he tried out for the team at Surfside Middle School in sixth grade, but was unsuccessful. In seventh grade, all he competed in was the high jump. Last year, however, he started to drastically lower his times at Arnold.

He’s running unattached this summer and trains on his own.

“It’s kind of nice not having a strict schedule, then again sometimes it’s hard to be motivated to run,” he said. “You’ve got to get up early in the morning and run by yourself.”

Sometimes that is in his neighborhood, and he monitors his distances by the number of houses he passes. Other times his father drops him off at Arnold’s track.

Rowe, who also ran the 800 and the steeplechase at the state meet but failed to qualify, is banking that his athletic future is in track and field.

“Hopefully my senior year I can make it to state in both cross country and track, but I think I can do better in track,” he said. “I’m really competitive, and with track the adrenaline of the crowd helps you a lot. In cross country, it feels like you’re off by yourself.”