Suffield Student-Athlete Featured In CIAC "Ag-lete Spotlight" [VIDEO]

SUFFIELD, CT — The recent observance of National FFA Week (formerly Future Farmers of America) prompted the governing body of Connecticut high school athletics to feature Suffield High School junior Griffin Mandirola, who is not only a state champion athlete, but an ambitious agricultural businessman as well.

Mandirola, who won the 1600 meter race at the Class M indoor track championships earlier this month and the Class SS cross country title at Wickham Park in October, spends a great deal of time working at Oxen Hill Farm on Hill Street, which has been in his family since the mid-1800s, when the ancestors of Carol (Biggerstaff) Griffin emigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland. A farm location in East Granby was originally part of a royal grant of land from the King of England, awarded to Sgt. John Griffin in 1647. It has remained in the Griffin family and is now operated by the 11th generation.

Oxen Hill is a USDA Certified Organic vegetable farm and a non-certified flower farm that primarily serves Community Supported Agriculture customers, including prominent businesses such as Whole Foods, Big Y and Geissler's Supermarkets.

Mandirola said he gets considerable enjoyment working in the fields.

"I love being hands-on, being able to work with my hands and get a little dirty," he said. "I get the satisfaction of being able to say I grew that, and people are eating what I grew."

Having a workplace which encompasses dozens of acres gives Mandirola the opportunity to hone his stride.

"I run a lot on the farm," he said. "The farm's got a lot of dirt roads, and I love running on dirt roads and trails."

The Suffield Regional Agriscience Program offers students throughout the area a rigorous program of studies that prepares them for rewarding careers in agriscience disciplines.

"I have five periods of regular classes, and two periods of agriscience classes," Mandirola said. "I want to study farm management in college, which is kind of a business degree but more farm-based. In the future, I would like to have a farm and be able to raise my own crops and have some animals."

The Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CAS-CIAC) recently produced the following video about Mandirola as part of its "Ag-lete Spotlight" series.