By MATTHEW PEASLEE
MORGANTOWN — In one week, Morgantown’s Irene Riggs set and broke her own record in the 3,200-meter run.
Not bad for a sophomore getting her first real taste of high school track and field competition.
On May 4 at the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference qualifying heats in St. Clairsville, Ohio, Riggs met her personal goal of running a 10:50.83.
“On Tuesday, I wanted to go around 10:45-10:50, so I was really happy that I got 10:50 because I still broke a record,” Riggs said.
That time beat the previous girls’ St. Clairsville Red Devil Stadium record (11.09, set in 2013), as well as the all-time OVAC record (10:55, set in 2006).
So, with the top rank heading into the OVAC championship meet May 8, Riggs had her sights set even higher.
“I knew going in on Saturday that I wanted to run faster,” Riggs said. “I wanted to get around that 10:45 mark.”
She did two seconds better with a time of 10:43.61, setting the best mark of all-time in the girls’ OVAC championship meet.
“I was really happy that I ran seven whole seconds faster, that’s even more than I wanted so I was really happy and encouraged moving forward,” Riggs said. “I don’t have much experience with high school track, so it was definitely encouraging and kept me going.”
Riggs was running her own race, she said, so she had a good idea of her pacing and speed in the 3,200 after going four times around the track. She kept her head up, saw the clock and received some words of encouragement from a meet official.
“I had just finished the mile and one of the officials yelled, ‘5:16, 3 seconds faster than your last split.’ So I had a good idea of where I was at, and I knew I was ahead of where I was at on Tuesday. There was also a clock right at the finish line so I was watching it and knew I was at a faster pace. I just kept telling myself that I couldn’t drop the pace I was at because I wouldn’t finish where I wanted to. I’m glad it all worked out in that race.”
She earned 10 points for the first-place finish. She finished the championship meet as the individual high-point earner as she also helped Morgantown to a first-place finish in the 4×800 and 4×400 relays.
The 4×800 team of Riggs, Madeline Gump, Anna Lester and Lea Hatcher finished with a mark of 9:53.19, their first time breaking 10 minutes this season.
The 4×400 team of Riggs, Lester, Hatcher and Yelena Davidson finished in 4:13.56 to cement a second-place team finish in 5A with 106 points, behind only Wheeling Park, which had 116 points.
“It was a good day for a lot of us,” Riggs said.
Riggs certainly made a name for herself in the fall cross-country season by winning the state meet and earning the Gatorade West Virginia Runner of the Year award. She’s on the fast track to that same success in track despite still adjusting to the intricacies of the sport.
She last ran track in middle school because her freshman season was canceled due to COVID-19 guidelines.
“In middle school you just kind of went running,” Riggs said. “It was like, ‘go and do whatever.’ Now, with a track workout it’s much more about feeling a rhythm. It’s important to follow the paces our coach gives us each workout. In cross-country, we do a lot of hill repeats. We see a lot of hills on the cross-country courses, so it’s important to build that stamina for that.
“Track is definitely more pace-based. It’s something I’ve tried to learn, trying to pace yourself in your races. It’s all exciting because this is something new for me. It’s exciting for me to try something new and get out there and do my best. I was in the same routine for so long so now it’s nice to kind of have a fresh start with track.”
She’s learning how to go from the interval training she’s used to in cross-country to a more speed-based approach in track. The most-popular track training for the Mohigans’ distance runners is an 8×800 circuit. They will also do some sprinting with 200- and 400-meter repeat workouts, which helps with pacing for the mile and 2-mile run.
With a handful of regular-season meets still remaining before regionals and the state meet on June 12, Riggs wants to keep riding the wave, getting better each time out.
She received a standing ovation from the St. Clairsville crowd after her record-breaking 3200-meter run as she lapped the field. Those cheers helped her steady pace get even faster. Her next goal is to get a 3200-meter time between 10:30-10:35.
“It makes you feel good,” Riggs said. “I was pumped to hear the crowd. I’m hoping down at the state meet in a few weeks, with so much hype around it, that I can pump myself up to get even faster.”
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