Morgantown WV Senior, Who Earned Eastbay All-America Honors Last Year, Picked Out A Goal And Stuck To It During Breakout Spring And Was Rewarded With 9:50.72 2-Mile At Brooks PR Invitational

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Photos by Zeth Peterka

It’s not easy for a high school athlete, especially one the elite caliber of Irene Riggs, to turn down an opportunity to compete at the prestigious Millrose Games.

But during her first indoor track season in January, Riggs was notified the Millrose Games had an open spot in the esteemed Girls High School Mile.

The world’s premier indoor track and field event held annually at New York’s The Armory, communicated to Riggs that if she could hit a certain time in the mile, the spot was hers.

Yet Riggs, a junior from Morgantown High in West Virginia coming off a cross country season that saw her earn All-American honors at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships, had something bigger in mind with a goal more than four months down the line. 

“She was really anxious because this is Millrose calling you, saying, ‘We got a spot for you if you can run this time,’” Morgantown head coach Mike Ryan said. “We had the conversation, ‘Your goal is Brooks PR and if that's really what you want, let’s keep focusing on the training and not adjusting to chase a time to just go to an indoor race.’”

That decision to stay the course was worth it.

Riggs arrived in Seattle, Wash., in June for the Brooks PR Invitational 2-mile. On an overcast late spring afternoon at the University of Washington, Riggs ran the race of her life, clocking a junior class record and No. 2 all-time outdoor mark of 9 minutes, 50.72 seconds after being edged by recent graduate Dalia Frias of Mira Costa High in California, who prevailed in a national prep outdoor record of 9:50.70.

“It was really hard because these things (Millrose Games) are super fun and you want to be able to do them, but at the end of the day, it’s also realizing there are sometimes bigger goals and sometimes you have to stay on track and not get distracted,” Riggs said. “It was hard, but worth it.”

Riggs, now a senior, has a chance to again do something special on the trails this fall as one of the top returning runners in the country.

Morgantown will get a big early test Oct. 1 at the Great American Cross Country Festival at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

“She wants to come in and win the state championship again and go to one of the big national races, and in our minds, we’re thinking top five,” Ryan said. “That's a bold prediction and I think with what she's done, if she stays healthy, she’s very capable of running with those top girls in the country.”

Finding Her Passion

Fun was always a focal point in the Riggs household.

Growing up in an athletic family — particularly swimming — Riggs’ parents always made sure their kids enjoyed whatever activity they were doing.

Riggs’ dad, Vic, is the head swim coach at West Virginia University and qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1984 and 1988. Riggs’ mom, Renee, is the head coach at Club Mountaineer Aquatics, where she coaches Irene’s twin sister, Caroline. Their older sister Abigail swam at West Virginia for their dad.

“My parents were always so focused on the fun aspect when we were little,” Riggs said. “Growing up, (sports) were super light-hearted and that helped me not burn out mentally, so I just really focused on enjoying them.”

For Riggs, it was swimming first. She swam competitively until middle school when Abigail started running cross country. Riggs said she wanted to join, too, so she balanced both running and swimming.

But as she headed into high school, she knew running was the path she wanted to pursue more seriously.

“I think obviously a little bit had to do with the fact that I excelled more in running than swimming, but also, I really loved the training aspect of running,” Riggs said. “I love going out and doing a long run and doing workouts and I really enjoy every aspect, and in swimming, I found myself enjoying more of the racing than the training. You do so much more training than racing and I think it is so important to enjoy that aspect.”

Ryan, who helped coordinate the middle school track meets, and also has a daughter the same age as Riggs, had a good idea of the type of athlete he was getting when she joined the varsity team her freshman year.

“She learned discipline at a really young age being around competitive swimming,” Ryan said. “Irene was one that you didn’t have to stress the importance of cooling down, and she overall understood what practice was, what training was, what competition was.”

A Path To Success

With an internal drive to be successful, Riggs’ first year at Morgantown couldn’t have been scripted any better.

Led by 2019 Nike Cross National qualifiers Athena Young and Lea Hatcher, Riggs witnessed firsthand what it took to be an elite high school cross country runner.

“That was one of the most amazing years because I came into a team that was pretty strong and I had people to look up to. I think that was something that really motivated me,” Riggs said. “I looked up to them and how hard they worked and how committed they were to the sport; that’s what really inspired me to really immerse myself and commit myself to running.”

That fall, she helped guide Morgantown to a Class AAA state title, placing third overall right behind Hatcher and Young. At NXR Southeast Regionals, she ran a personal-best 17:55 at WakeMed Soccer Park, finishing ninth overall, just one spot away from qualifying for NXN.

“I think that really drove her moving forward, because she was upset with being just one spot away,” Ryan said. “She goes, ‘I want to run at a level like that, where I can go and compete at a national meet.’”

A Breakout Season 

As COVID-19 disrupted the 2020 season, it also forced Riggs to reimagine any sort of plans she had envisioned for herself.

Ryan explained the pandemic was an unexpected blessing, though, as it became a time for Riggs to focus on training rather than chasing qualifying times and races.

“She grew a lot during her sophomore year, and that kind of helped set the basis for what she did last year,” Ryan said.

As a junior, Riggs guided Morgantown to the program’s third straight Class AAA state cross country championship and defended her individual title in 18:24.88, winning by more than 30 seconds.

A month later, she didn’t leave anything to chance, qualifying for the Eastbay National Cross Country Championships in ​​17:21.95.

In her first national cross country race in December at San Diego’s Balboa Park, she placed 14th (17:48.5).

Motivation

Ryan describes Riggs personality as “Type-A.”

As someone who thrives off the intricate details and planning, once cross country ended, her mind was immediately wanting to know what was next.

“She wants to know things way in advance,” Ryan said. “To be an elite runner you also have to have a talent, that has to be there, but her drive and discipline are two of her biggest attributes. She wants to be good, she wants to be successful.”

Last winter, Riggs and Ryan talked about goals for the track season.

Riggs stated, “I want to run Brooks.”

Ryan looked up what it would take to qualify for the elite invitational. He felt confident she could do that, but he also thought she could do more. He threw out the 3,200 state record of 10:00.42 held by 2014 University graduate Amelia Paladino.

“I said, ‘I think you can do this,’” Ryan said. “From what you’ve done so far, I think you can do this by spring.”

It was a lofty goal on paper, considering her 3,200 PR from the previous year was 10:24.60, but one that Riggs was excited about.

With a plan for Brooks in June, Riggs had a limited indoor season of racing, zeroing in on training. Her one big meet was racing at The Armory in March at the New Balance Nationals Indoor mile, where she ran 4:48.95 for eighth place.

“My coach, I give him a lot of credit, he’s constantly reminding me what the end goal is,” Riggs said. “Sometimes I can easily get distracted by the races and things to do, but he really helps me stay on track and stay focused.”

So, what has kept Riggs motivated? Just go back to her family roots.

“My twin (Caroline) she’s a competitive swimmer and she works so hard in the pool, I think that honestly it pushes me,” Riggs said. “I feel like us just watching each other motivates each other in a way.”

Caroline Riggs is the reigning West Virginia state champion in two individual swim events (200-yd freestyle and 100-yd breaststroke) and two relays. 

That motivation set up an historic spring.

Ryan helped arrange a special home meet April 23, the Mountaineer Showcase, that would give Riggs an opportunity to run a fast 3,200. She took advantage, running a massive PR of 9:54.69 to shatter the state record and continue her strong training for Brooks PR.

“We set it up, and turned on the stadium lights for that 3,200 but she had to do it by herself,” Ryan said. “You kind of accept that people aren’t going to look at West Virginia and say there’s going to be a lot of talent here. And Irene, she understood I have to go prove myself on the big stage when I get those opportunities, so I need to be as prepared as possible for those opportunities.”

Brooks PR

It was long after she crossed the line in second place June 15 in Seattle that Riggs was made aware of her accomplishment.

“Right after, I didn’t know I ran No. 2 all-time for a good chunk of time until way later in the evening, when someone told me,” she said with a laugh. “I think it’s sunk in a little bit, but then I don’t think it really has. When I think about it, I’m like ‘Wow, that’s pretty crazy, but I’m proud of it.’”

Nearly two weeks after the Class AAA state track meet, where she helped Morgantown claim the team title – tripling and winning the 800 (2:14.86), 1600 (4:51.25), and 3,200 (10:14.16) — Riggs did a 1,600 time trial to gauge her fitness level heading into Brooks PR.

She clocked right around 4:37.

“I knew I was in good shape. That’s really what I needed,” Riggs said. “I was pretty confident in my fitness and how much I had progressed throughout the outdoor track season and I felt really good. Just going into Brooks kind of the game plan was just stay up with that front group and hang on and see what I could do.”

That’s exactly what ended up happening as Riggs stuck with the leaders as the eight-lap race eventually turned into a battle between her and the Duke-bound Frias. The two had a photo finish, as Frias held on for victory by .02 seconds, both athletes running faster than the previous national mark of 9:51.35 achieved by Brie Oakley of Grandview High in Colorado at the 2017 Brooks PR Invitational.

“I definitely wanted to go to Brooks and represent our state well, and I think I did that,” Riggs said.

More Left

Riggs is in a good place entering the fall season.

She’s already checked off one of her major goals by announcing her verbal commitment to Stanford University in June.

Riggs chose the Cardinal for many reasons, but she loves the idea of coming into a competitive program where she’s able to learn and grow right away from experienced runners, just like her first year at Morgantown.

She’s also part of an experienced Morgantown squad that could make some noise nationally. In her final season, Riggs will look to stay the course and see what else she can accomplish.

“I’m really focused this year on going out to all the races and am just racing my hardest,” Riggs said. “Especially when I go to those bigger races and see what I can do.”