CHARLESTON — Pure dominance.
That has been the 2020-21 distance season for Morgantown High’s Irene Riggs, who captured the Class AAA state championship in the girls’ 3,200-meter run Friday night at Laidley Field in Charleston.
Riggs finished the run in 10:50.51, 14 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Caroline Kirby, who finished at 11:04.35. Total, North Central West Virginia was well represented, claiming every spot in the top five between MHS, UHS and Preston, and had seven of the top 10 finishers.
Preston’s Allie Martin (11:11.87), UHS’s Mia Murray ( 11:22.36) and MHS’s Jennifer O’Palko ( 11:23.02) finished 3rd-5th, respectively, earning medal spots.
The Knights’ Abby Nolan (8th, 12:09.47) and the Mohigans’ Kennedy Young (10th, 12:25.99) rounded out the rest of the local top-10 finishers.
“It’s really nice to see what distance running has become in West Virginia, especially with us and those at University,” Riggs said. “We’re able to push each other and it’s really nice to see all of us doing so well.”
Riggs, though, entered the longest race of the meet as the clear favorite, and she yet again took care of business. Only a sophomore, she won the state cross-country championship in the fall, and in her first high school track season — last season was canceled due to COVID-19 — Riggs won a state title in her very first event.
Her meet is far from over, too, running in the 1,600-meter run Saturday, and according to runwv.com, is the favorite to win that one. Riggs is also slated to run in the 800-meter run and 4×400 relay.
In early May, Riggs broke, then re-broke, her own OVAC record in the 3,200, running a 10:50.83. She topped that time in the state meet, though it wasn’t her personal record, but that was all by design with her busy slate Saturday.
“I was really just trying to place No. 1 in the 3,200 — I really wasn’t close to my best time by a good chunk,” Riggs said. “With three more events to go, I knew Saturday was going to be tough.”
She said the toughest transition between races is from the 1,600 to the 800 because of how hard runners go in the 1,600 now compared to the past. The 3,200 was scheduled for the night before to allow runners to get a well-deserved break.
The only sprint event Riggs will participate in is the 4×400, which is something she worked hard with coach Mike Ryan on to perfect after lacking confidence at the beginning of the season.
“It took me a long time at the beginning, and coach Ryan focused on speed mechanics and we were ready to go,” Riggs said.
In the only other event Friday, MHS’s Yelena Davidson finished 4th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.61. Preston’s Ella White finished 6th to medal with a time of 1:01.32.
Heading into Saturday’s finals, Morgantown leads the girls’ team standings with 16 points, followed by University in 2nd with 12. The Knights sit in 5th with seven points.
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