(Irene Riggs’ Zoom conference)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In the corner of the Morgantown High School gymnasium, banners are displayed honoring Gatorade West Virginia Players of the Year. Four banners with Irene Riggs’ name are already in place and two more are on the way.
On Monday, Riggs was honored as the Gatorade West Virginia Cross Country Player of the Year. And on Wednesday morning, the future Stanford University student-athlete was named as Gatorade’s National Cross Country Player of the Year.
“When I found out, I was definitely surprised. It was not what I was expecting,” Riggs said Wednesday morning. “I was definitely shocked and my immediate reaction was excitement. I was honored to win the award.”
Riggs won the Class AAA state championship in a time of 16 minutes, 32.32 seconds. That time was over two minutes better than her closest competitor. Riggs is a three-time cross country state champion and she has paced the Mohigans to four straight team championships.
In and around her high school track and cross country seasons, Riggs has built a national profile by winning races against some of the best runners in the country. In December, Riggs took first place at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon. She bested a field of 195 runners by 14 seconds.
Prior to that meet, Riggs posted a dominant showing at the Nike Southeast Regionals in Cary, North Carolina, where she shattered the course record and recorded the second-fastest time for a high school girl in a 5K at 16:02. That mark beat the previous course record by more than 20 seconds.
“Especially in distance running and all sports in general, we have really grown as a state in athletics. I think sometimes we get a little bit shadowed. I think it is really important to try do to our best to represent the state well. It means a lot to be able to be one of the athletes and people that can put our name out there.”
19:44.3 🇺🇸🏆
Irene Riggs sped to a win in the U20 Women’s 6km in 19:44.3 over Ellie Shea (19:47.5) and Zariel Macchia (20:04.7) at the USATF Cross Country Championships 🤩#JourneyToGold pic.twitter.com/fVVqfZgZRf
— USATF (@usatf) January 21, 2023
On Saturday, Riggs won the USATF Under-20 6K national title, earning a spot in the 44th World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia on February 18.
“Honestly, my goal was to be top six because that is the cutoff for qualifying. But I ended up feeling good. So I had a good race.
“It is going to be a great experience just to race so many talented athletes I think is what I am most excited for. It is definitely going to be something I have never experienced before with such a high-caliber race. I am excited and a little bit nervous. Whenever this opportunity comes up again, I don’t know where I’ll be.”
Irene Riggs has just been named the @Gatorade National Girls Cross Country National Player of the Year!!! @Ireneriggs_ @MohiganXC @MohiganTrack
She joins the likes of @KingJames, @ClaytonKersh22, and @Candace_Parker and others as National Players of the Year in their sport!! pic.twitter.com/oQb3soaYzb
— Morgantown Mohigan Athletics (@MohiganAthletic) January 25, 2023
Balancing her high school track and cross country schedules with national and international meets means that Riggs is competing almost year-round while keeping a 4.22 grade point average and serving as the vice president of the student body at Morgantown H.S.
“My New Year’s resolution was to just take everything in for what it is worth. A lot is happening but it is really exciting. After NXN [Nike Cross Nationals], I did have a little bit of time off after that so that was great to just to reflect on my cross country season and really absorb everything.
“The weather here is not the most fun to run in the winter. Actually, I have fallen quite a few times so it is a little bit of a struggle. But I feel like running with teammates is really what helps me run in the winter. Running with your friends is what makes it enjoyable.”