CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The only question in the final girls event on Day 1 of the WVSSAC State Track Meet was if Stanford signee and one of the state’s elite athletes Irene Riggs could break her own state record in the Class AAA 3200 meter run. Riggs did so with room to spare, crossing the line in a time of 10:10.02, over four seconds better than last May. Morgantown took the top three spots in the event with Amelia Summers and Madeline Gump finishing second and third respectively.
“I know how difficult it is to have external pressure,” Riggs said. ” So going in, I said something like, ‘We can get Top 5 individually’. But I kind of knew they had it to get all of us one, two, three.”
Riggs did not run in the 4×800 meter relay but Morgantown still finished first. In their title defense, the Mohigans trail Jefferson by five points through Day 1. Hannah Shanley won the shot put and Haley Shanley finished fifth in the discus, giving the Cougars a 39-34 lead on the Mohigans with 12 events to go.
In other event finals in Class AAA, Parkersburg won the shuttle hurdle relay for the third consecutive year. Bella Staples of Beckley won the discus and Eva Craige of Martinsburg won the long jump.
Winfield has lead in Class AA one-third of the way through the competition. The Generals opened the day with a win in the 4×800 meter relay. Rachel Withrow ran the anchor leg on that relay and later won the 3200 meter run. Winfield scored 41 points on Day 1. North Marion stands 4.5 points behind. The Huskies posted a pair of event victories. They won the shuttle hurdle relay and Maylie Bland later won the pole vault.
Elsewhere in Class AA, Kensington McConnachie of Oak Glen won the long jump and Kaleigh Ryan of Liberty Harrison won the high jump.
Williamstown leads their conference rivals from Doddridge County with five of 18 events complete in Class A. Sophomore Alyssa Sauro went 2-for-2 on Day 1. She ran the anchor leg on the victorious 4×800 meter relay team and later won the two-mile run by 42 seconds. Kyndra Johnson won the shot put for the Yellowjackets giving them a third first-place finish.
Doddridge County received a victory from senior Abby McDonough. She cleared 10 feet, 6 inches to win the pole vault. In the other completed event in Class A, Charleston Catholic won the shuttle hurdle relay by nearly two full seconds.