Graves Named Head Cross Country and Distance Coach at Pitt
8/14/2023 10:00:00 AM | Cross Country
PITTSBURGH – Griff Graves has been named the Head Men's and Women's Cross Country and Distance Coach at the University of Pittsburgh as announced Monday morning by Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Alonzo Webb.
"The entire Pitt coaching and support staff welcomes Coach Graves, his wife Cassie and their daughter Gillian to the Pitt Track and Field and Cross Country family. We are thrilled to have someone with the ACC coaching pedigree that Coach Graves has, along with the experience of being coached by and learning from some of the best coaches in the country. Coach Graves brings with him the experience of being a part of Big East cross country championship teams as an athlete, along with being part of a coaching staff that has won an ACC Cross Country title. Coaching alongside one of the top distance coaches in the ACC has given Coach Graves a front row seat in helping develop some of the best distance runners in the conference as well. Throughout the interview process, his coaching knowledge, confidence, experience, and personality showed that he was ready to take Pitt distance to the next level."
Graves comes to Pittsburgh after five years as an assistant coach at his alma mater Syracuse, where he mentored the Orange's distance runners. During the 2022-23 season, the Orange scored in all six NCAA Championship events, across men's and women's cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. At the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Syracuse men took 12th place and the women finished 23rd. Under Graves' tutelage, the Orange men claimed the 2019 ACC Cross Country Championship and won the NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country Championship in 2018, 2021 and 2022.
In addition to significant team accomplishments, Graves has guided his athletes to numerous individual achievements. Savannah Roark received USTFCCCA Cross Country All-American and All-ACC honors in 2022. Amanda Vestri was a two-time USTFCCCA First Team All-American, the 2021 NCAA Northeast Regional Champion, and 2021 ACC Champion in the indoor 5K. At the 2019 ACC Championships, Illiass Aouani claimed titles in both the 5K and the 10K, and Shannon Malone won the NCAA Northeast Regional in 2018.
"Thank you so much to Coach Webb, the administration, the staff, and the student-athletes for giving me this opportunity," stated Graves. "I'm incredibly blessed to be a part of the Pitt family. I look forward to working with Coach Webb and the staff as we help to develop these student-athletes into great people and competitors!"
Prior to Graves' return to the Orange, he served as the operations assistant for the Florida State cross country and track and field programs. During his one-year stint in the sunshine state, the Seminoles won both the men's and women's ACC Indoor Track and Field titles, with the men also claiming the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
Graves began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Appalachian State in 2016-17, helping the Mountaineers' women's team to a Sun Belt cross country title.
As a student-athlete, Graves won three conference championships with the Orange and helped Syracuse achieve a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships in 2013. After graduation, Graves ran professionally for ZAP Fitness/ Reebok, qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.