Varsity sophomore Kyle Griffith in competing in the Chicago Tribune’s Athlete of the Month for May.

“I think people should vote for me because I put a lot of time into running and a lot of hard work and I hope it pays off,” Griffith said. “Overall, I think it’s really cool I was nominated.”

The Athlete of the Month is based on a nomination by one of the student’s teachers or coaches. After being chosen by the Chicago Tribune, the athletes are narrowed down into finalists where readers vote for the winner.

Griffith is currently in a landslide lead over the other competitor, Melanie Aguilar, sophomore gymnast at Mundelein High School. Voting closes on May 19, when the person with the most votes will become the Tribune’s Athlete of the Month.

Although Griffith’s nomination is anonymous, his nominator came with high praise.

“Kyle Griffith is an exceptional distance runner who currently has an astounding PR of 4:49 in the 1600 and a 10:14 in the 3200,” said the unnamed nominator on the poll website. “He also qualified for State in cross country as only a sophomore! Besides being an incredible runner he is also an excellent student and is in many rigorous classes.”

Griffith participates and runs varsity for both cross country and track, as well as taking many honors classes.

“I think my season is going well,” Griffith said. “I hit some of my goals, but I still have others to reach and the season’s not over yet.”

Voting closes May 19. Vote today at ChicagoTribune.com.