MORGANTOWN — Irene Riggs is on orders from her distance coaches at Morgantown High not to run this week.
“They’ve told me no running and get plenty of sleep,” Riggs said. “If I want to go for a walk or a bike ride, that’s fine, but no high intensity workouts.”
Riggs, who will be a senior this year at MHS, has already run enough, and almost like no other high school girl in the country.
Her accomplishment at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle last week were just as astonishing as they were historical.
She became the first West Virginia high school girl to break 10 minutes in the 3,200 meters, well, her run in Seattle was officially the second time she’s accomplished that feat.
Her time of 9:50.72 — she also ran a 9:54.69 at a meet in Morgantown earlier this year — in Seattle made her the second-fastest high school girl ever to run two miles in an outdoor arena.
The twist to the story is the fastest to ever run the event was right next to her.
Dalia Frias, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., who will be attending Duke in the fall, finished the race in 9:50.70.
Two-hundreths of a second is basically half the amount of time it takes to snap your fingers.
“I had seen her times before the race and she had run a 9:55, so I knew it was a great opportunity to race against her,” Riggs said. “We were running basically stride for stride and it came down to the last 100 meters.
“You run a race that long, it usually doesn’t come down to a sprint, but that’s what happened. We were really pushing each other and she just got one final kick.”
Both Frias and Riggs broke the high school national outdoors record in the 3,200, which was previously 9:51.35, set in 2017.
A rush of emotions hit her at the finish line, Riggs admitted. There was disappointment in taking second, but also the excitement of being pushed to her limits.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what we had done until after the race was over,” she said. “I was excited and then shocked a little, because I felt we had both run really well, but no one even said anything about the record until later.”
Messed around and got a state record
There are interesting twists and turns that comes with Riggs’ times in the 3,200.
We begin at the state track meet in Charleston last month, where she won the 800, 1,600 and the 3,200 meters to help the Mohigans win the state title.
Riggs won high-point honors at the meet with 30 points scored.
Her time then in the 3,200 was 10:14.16, 42 seconds ahead of the next finisher, but 24 seconds off the pace she ran in Seattle.
How do you get that much faster in a month?
“It sort of exemplifies the strategy that goes into different races and the tactics you use for each race,” Riggs began. “At the state meet, I was running three races and my coaches wanted me to be as fresh as I could be for each one.
“When we got to the 3,200, basically my coaches were telling me to run my race, but don’t go all out. I held back a little in that race.”
She held back and still broke the state record — by 11 seconds — that had been set in 2014.
“I know, it sounds a little crazy,” Riggs said.
At the Brooks PR Invitational, the 3,200 was the only event she competed in.
“So I got to go all out basically,” she said. “I wasn’t holding back.”
State history in girls’ distance running
In 2001, Fayetteville’s Jessica Taylor became the first West Virginia high school girl to break 11 minutes in the 3,200, finishing at 10:59.26.
At the time, it was thought to be a major benchmark for the state.
Turns out that benchmark didn’t last very long, as girls around the state began pushing closer and closer to 10 minutes.
Just five years later, Preston High’s Kaylyn Christopher turned in a 10:33.02 at the Gazette Relays.
That turned into University High’s Amelia Paladino running a state meet record of 10:25.29 in 2014, the record Riggs broke this May.
In the span of 21 years, Riggs’ top time has shaved more than a minute off of Taylor’s achievement and the top female runners in the state are now competing at a national level.
“It’s cool to kind of look back and see how running has evolved in the state,” Riggs said. “I’ve thought a little bit about just how far it can go and how much lower times can get.
“I’m sure one day I’ll look back and see someone has gone faster than me in the state.”
It just won’t be Riggs going any faster at the moment, coach’s orders.
“I’m going to enjoy my time off, but I’ll be back training soon,” she said. “I’ve thought about what we can implement in my training to get faster. I think we can focus on fitness and strength training.
“For me, it’s about finding a good balance between work, but still having fun. I know it all looks tedious to a lot of people, but I’m having a lot of fun competing and training and hopefully that turns into good results.”
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