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Irene Riggs Makes History for West Virginia With Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year Honors

Published by
DyeStat.com   Jan 25th 2023, 11:56pm
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Morgantown High senior Riggs, a Stanford signee, is first athlete in any sport from her state to receive national recognition from Gatorade in 38-year existence of awards program after becoming first female competitor to win titles at both Nike Cross Nationals and USATF U20 Championships 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

There was one more finish line tape for Irene Riggs to break Wednesday, only this one didn’t come on a cross country course, rather at the end of a park trail under an arch of orange balloons with her teammates, friends and family waiting on the other side, along with a giant trophy as part of a surprise presentation.

For all the memorable achievements Riggs enjoyed during her final cross country season at Morgantown High, the recognition as Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year might have been the most remarkable of all.

IRENE RIGGS INTERVIEW WITH ERIK BOAL | GATORADE ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO

Riggs, a Stanford-bound senior and the reigning Nike Cross Nationals champion as well as the USATF Under-20 gold medalist, became the first athlete from West Virginia in the 38-year history of the Gatorade national awards to be honored in any sport.

“It’s really exciting and honoring. I feel really grateful to be able to represent the state that way,” Riggs said. “Obviously, West Virginia distance running has grown a lot and so I just feel really blessed to be one of the athletes that can help represent our state.”

Gatorade first recognized student-athletes with national awards in 1986, but didn’t add cross country to the list of sports highlighted until 2008. Riggs joins a group of more than 350 prep competitors presented by Gatorade with the top national honor in their respective sport.

“It’s meant a lot. It’s definitely something that I’m obviously super grateful for,” Riggs said. “In the past, I definitely feel like our state has been a little overshadowed, but I’ve definitely seen that we’ve come into the spotlight more just within the past couple of years and I think that all these athletes that have come from our state have contributed to that. It takes a group effort and obviously I have an amazing team and we’ve been able to represent the state well. I just think that it’s something that’s really exciting and a lot of the runners from West Virginia can continue to look forward to.”

Riggs is the first female recipient of the Gatorade cross country award to sign with Stanford since Aisling Cuffe of Cornwall Central High in New York in 2011. Juliette Whittaker of Mount de Sales High in Maryland, a Stanford freshman, received Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Player of the Year recognition in July.

“There are so many current (Stanford) teammates that have won the state, and then some of them national awards, so it does mean a lot to be able to contribute to that legacy,” Riggs said. “Hopefully, I’ll continue to contribute things when I’m on the team, but it means a lot to have my name next to those people.”

She enjoyed another breakthrough Wednesday after becoming the first high school cross country athlete from West Virginia to win a championship at any national final with her NXN victory Dec. 3 by clocking 16 minutes, 40.90 seconds, producing the second-fastest performance in history on the 5-kilometer layout at Glendoveer Golf Course in Oregon.

She also became the first NXN girls winner to capture the USATF U20 crown with her 6-kilometer triumph Saturday in 19:44.3 at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va.

“It’s really incredible,” Riggs said. “It takes a village and I’ve had so many people support me. Even when I got back from Nike, my entire school showed so much support for me and it was really something special. It’s really something that I’m grateful for because without all these people, it wouldn’t be possible.”

Cuffe, the 2010 Foot Locker winner, is the only other high school girls national champion to follow that achievement in December by securing the USATF U20 title during the ensuing winter season.

Riggs, a three-time West Virginia Class AAA cross country champion, was limited in her regular-season performances after taking time off to allow a foot injury to heal in time for the postseason.

But her exceptional series of results during the final five weeks of the season more than made up for lost time, producing the fastest 5-kilometer effort Oct. 29 in state finals history by running 16:32.32 on the Cabell Midland Course to help Morgantown capture its fourth consecutive championship.

That provided Riggs with the confidence to deliver the most impressive cross country race of her prep career Nov. 26 at the Nike Southeast Regional at the WakeMed Course in North Carolina.

Following a 10:00.95 effort Nov. 11 at the Morgantown - A Night of 3200s at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park in her final tuneup, Riggs ran 16:02.10 on the 5-kilometer layout at WakeMed to win the regional title.

Riggs not only eclipsed the 2019 record established by three-time Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland High in New York by 20 seconds, but also produced the second-fastest 5-kilometer cross country performance in history by a high school female athlete, trailing only the 15:58.42 effort achieved by Jenna Hutchins of Science Hill High in Tennessee at the 2020 RunningLane National Championships at John Hunt Park in Alabama.

In addition to maintaining a 4.22 grade-point average, Riggs is the student body vice president at Morgantown, along with serving as social media coordinator for Mohigan Idol, a Monongalia County talent competition that fundraises for WVU Children’s Hospital.

Also a student council representative at Morgantown, Riggs has donated her time as a youth coach for Club Mountaineer Aquatics and as part of the Strawberry 5K fundraiser supporting her high school.

“My parents have been really influential in my life and they’ve always really put an emphasis on just you as an individual and not you just as an athlete,” Riggs said. “I think it’s really important to focus on all realms of your life and do things outside of your sport and I think they’ve really implemented that into my siblings’ life and mine. Also, having a twin, she pushes me in different aspects, so (the Gatorade award) is one of the biggest compliments you can get.”

Riggs is now eligible for the Gatorade National Girls Athlete of the Year, which is awarded in July, and includes competitors in basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball and track and field among the six finalists.



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