Riggs' NXR Southeast win earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Breaking the course record and winning the Nike Cross Regionals Southeast by more than a minute, Irene Riggs (Morgantown, West Virginia/USATF West Virginia) earned recognition as the 41st USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022.
 
Riggs, a senior at Morgantown High School who won the West Virginia Class AAA 800m, 1,600m and 3,200m titles on the track in May, dominated the field on the 5km course at the WakeMed Athletic Complex in Cary, North Carolina, clocking 16:02.1 to shatter the existing high school girls course record by more than 20 seconds and win by 1:24. 
 
In 2019, last week's USATF Athlete of the Week, Katelyn Tuohy, ran 16:22.8 to set the course record that was broken by Riggs. With her regional victory, Riggs qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals, scheduled for December 3 in Portland, Oregon.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Weini Kelati won the women's Manchester Road Race for the second year in a row, clocking 23:39 for the 4.748-mile course.
• Conner Mantz was the men's winner at the Manchester Road Race, edging out Morgan Beadlescomb with a course record time of 21:04.
• Lex Young won the boys' California high school state cross country title in 14:27.9 for 5km, leading Newbury Park to a fourth-straight state team title.
• Ellie Shea won the CHAMPS Northeast regional cross country girls' race by 14 seconds in 17:10.7 for 5km.
• Hunter Jones was a 10-second winner of the boys' CHAMPS Midwest regional cross country race with a 14:52.2 for 5km.

Now in its 21st year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week. 

2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Gabby Thomas; April 25, Robyn Stevens; May 2, Erriyon Knighton; May 9, Emily Sisson; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Janee Kassanavoid; May 30, Michael Norman; June 6, Chari Hawkins; June 13, Devon Allen; June 27, Sydney McLaughlin; August 10, Roisin Willis; August 17, Grant Fisher; August 24, Kara Winger; August 31, Alicia Monson; September 7, Kara Winger; September 14, Joe Kovacs; September 21, Biya Simbassa; September 28, Garrett Heath; October 4, Hillary Bor; October 11, Emily Sisson; October 18, Katelyn Tuohy; October 25, Chris Gomez; November 1, Parker Valby; November 8, Adam Peterman; November 15, Tyrone Gorze; November 22, Katelyn Tuohy; November 29, Irene Riggs.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.

Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.

Photo Credit: William Wotring/Dominion Post