Van Buren alumna to be honored Saturday

With her infectious giggle, Van Buren’s own Katie Griffin took a second and described her thoughts on what is about to take place Saturday afternoon at her alma mater:

“It is surreal,” she said.

What is so surreal to Griffin is that less than a year removed from graduating from Van Buren, she will be one of the highlights of Saturday’s Legends of the Hardwood festivities set to take place beginning at 10 a.m. (see full schedule below)

That’s because the school has decided to retire her basketball number as well as her cross country jersey after the first game of the day, which will feature Van Buren's JV against Bismarck.

“It is a full circle moment because you worked really hard for something and it pays off in ways you never imagined,” Griffin said. “I worked so hard for years and wanted to do big things. I didn’t want to settle and exceed expectations for myself. I wanted to be the best for myself and my team.

“Iron sharpens iron. To win games and races, I have to do my best to work hard (and the team reciprocates).”

Griffin was a standout in both sports as well as track during her years wearing the Lady Dawgs uniform.

Griffin’s favorite sport is track and field, which she currently is preparing to partake in her freshman campaign at Missouri State University following a fall running as a Bears harrier.

“I ran four races this year in cross country and it’s a big step up in training,” Griffin said. “It’s obviously not going to go picture-perfect. Track is more my thing and I am running the mile and the 4x400. Going from Class 1 to (NCAA) D1 was a big shock. Everyone was the best in their area and knows what they are doing. I am the youngest and came from the smallest school. I know that is what I wanted because I know I can do great things at a big school, experience great things and be pushed harder.”

Griffin, who is going to major in business education — with a custom minor in marketing — and hopes to become a high school teacher and coach, said her best cross country time this year was 20:30, but the courses were challenging as well as making the adjustment to bigger running fields and higher levels of competition.

“I’m having a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s what I signed up for and what I love to do. Pushing yourself like that is something I have always done. The time doesn’t matter to me, because I am becoming a better person.”

Her high school resume was impressive enough that her scholarship to Missouri State was a likely foregone conclusion:

• Cross County: Sophomore and junior years, she was a part of back-to-back Class 1 fourth-place teams and then in 2021 led the Lady Dawgs to the state title while finishing fourth as an individual and finishing her career with a personal-best time of 19:09 — a school record for 5K. She was the Big Springs Conference Runner of the Year.

• Griffin started off with a freshman year she says, “wasn’t very good at all,” and evolved to the point where she bounced back her junior year (the 2020 campaign was wiped out due to COVID-19) with an all-state, third-place performance in the 400 and her senior season, she won the state title in the event with her best time at 58:08. She also added a third-place finish in the 800 and qualified for the 200 as well. “The 200 is right after the 800 and I didn’t have time to recover, so I was throwing up at the start of the 200,” Griffin said chuckling. “I didn’t do too good in that race. No one runs the eight and the two but me. I was district and sectional runner-up in 200 and I thought I could get all-state. At state with the 200 coming after the 800, your legs are dead.”

• She also suited up for the Lady Dawgs and after an up-and-down freshman year, Griffin was all-conference and all-district the next two seasons then replicated the feat while adding all-state honors to her resume last year. She holds the school record for the most points in the game (48) and eventually took the top spot on the all-time, career scoring list with 1,686 points. The only bugaboo for Griffin was facing a formidable Ellington side in the Big Springs Conference playoffs which denied the Lady Dawgs chances to win the BSC time and time again. At district, Ellington again stood in the way and denied Griffin a chance for a state trip.

All of this is being recognized and rightfully so.

“Winning a state championship still doesn’t feel real and when they told me they were doing this, I was like, ‘oh wow,’” Griffin said. “I am only 19. I was playing basketball a year ago. This is really cool.

“I am going to try not to (cry).”

LEGENDS of the HARDWOOD

Saturday

10 a.m. Van Buren JV boys vs. Bismarck

Katie Griffin number retirement

11:30 a.m. Van Buren varsity girls vs. Bismarck

1 p.m. Alton boys vs. Lesterville

2:30 Alton girls vs. Houston

2003 East Carter Redbird state champs presentation

4 p.m. East Cater boys vs. Winona

5:30 p.m. Van Buren boys vs. Richland