High school and college Grijalva was a state champion in cross country while attending
Armijo High School, winning Division 1 of the 2016 CIF State Cross Country Championships. He was also an All-American at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. On the track, Grijalva won the 1600m state championship in 2017, and he recorded high school personal bests of 4:02 in the mile and 8:46 for 2 miles. While at NAU, Grijalva raced four times in the
NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, improving from a 60th-place finish his freshman year to a 9th-place finish his senior year. His efforts helped lead the school to three national titles. On the track, Grijalva primarily specialized in the 5000m. In his final collegiate race, he finished second in the
2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, behind
Cooper Teare. His time of 13:13.14 was among the top 5 fastest times ever run by a collegian in the event, and it surpassed the Olympic standard of 13:13.50. He was slated to represent Guatemala in the 5000 m of the
2020 Tokyo Olympics in August. However, his status as a
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient posed challenges for his travel outside the United States, as DACA beneficiaries risk denial of reentry if they leave the country. This situation garnered national attention. Ultimately, Grivalija received special permission from the
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to leave and compete. He also contested the 5000 m at the
Bislett Games in
Oslo, Norway, finishing eleventh. In July, Grijalva represented Guatemala at the
2022 World Athletics Championships in
Eugene, Oregon. His time of 13:10.44 led him to a fourth-place finish.
2023 in Budapest, Hungary. Grijalva competed in several European races during June and July, including at the
Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Italy. At that
Diamond League event, he ran a new personal best of 12:52.97 for 5000 m, earning him third place. Later that summer, Grijalva represented Guatemala at the
2023 World Championships in
Budapest, Hungary. He placed 4th for the second time in the 5000 m of a global championship, just 0.22 second shy of bronze medalist
Jacob Krop of Kenya. On 17 September, he competed in the 3000 m of the
Diamond League Final in
Eugene, Oregon. His time of 7:29.43, en route to a seventh-place finish, was another national record for the Guatemalan.
2024 In March, Grijalva competed at
The TEN in
San Juan Capistrano, setting a new Guatemalan national record of 27:26.02. He improved his own Guatemalan national record in the 5000 m at the
Oslo Diamond League, running 12:50.58 to finish sixth. On 2 June, Grijalva continued his good form by finishing third over 3000 m at the
Stockholm Diamond League in 7:33.96. At the
2024 Paris Olympics, Grijalva finished sixteenth in his heat, not qualifying him for the final. In October, it was announced that he had signed up for the inaugural season of the
Michael Johnson founded
Grand Slam Track. == Personal life ==