Victoria Riggs ran a different kind of race than she’s used to last weekend. Instead of going out and running her planned race in terms of time, physical and mental goals, the Wright City sophomore made a few changes to her game plan.
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Victoria Riggs ran a different kind of race than she’s used to last weekend.
Instead of going out and running her planned race in terms of time, physical and mental goals, the Wright City sophomore made a few changes to her game plan.
Riggs didn’t just focus on herself and what she could do, she actually went into the Mike Spoede Invitational Meet at Warrenton with her focus centered a bit more on those around her.
Competing in a meet with runners from schools of all sizes, it was Riggs who drew the attention, though, finishing second in a time of 19 minutes, 51.02 seconds.
“I wasn’t expecting it to go that well,” Riggs said. “I think it was a PR (personal record). I think so, yeah. Today, I was just going for placing. I ran this course the other day. I’m very happy with this.”
She finished behind Howell Central sophomore Peyton Marshall, who finished in 19:19.12, but Riggs added that jockeying for position with third-place finisher Howell Central junior Mia Thomas made all the difference.
“It was easier to stay with the girl in front of me and (tell myself) that I just need to go get her,” said Riggs of Thomas, who led for a portion of the race. “It helped a lot. I didn’t think I was going to catch up to the girl in black, but mentally, staying with her helped me pass her at the end. To go through this course and to come out second, I’m very happy.”
Wright City Coach David Schnell said that the gravity of Riggs’ result can’t be overstated.
With the pure depth the meet boasted, finishing second is a definite feather in Riggs’ cap.
“Second place was outstanding, considering the sizes of the schools that are here,” Schnell said. “This is a very challenging course with a lot of hills and a lot of sharp turns. That makes this an impressive finish. She ran a great race. She went out with the leaders and she fought for it and I couldn’t be more impressed with her right now.”
Warrenton senior Alexis Ruff was the other Warren County runner with a top finish, as her time of 21:57.91 earned her 20th place.
On the boys’ side, Wright City once again ran as a tightly packed group, finishing with just a 36-second spread between the first and last varsity runner scored.
Sophomore Frankie Zykan (18:37.83) was the top finisher, while sophomore Clayton Kennon (18:48.77), freshman Nolan Laughary (18:48.78), freshman Wilder Hall (19:10.46) and sophomore Zane Webster (19:14.80) rounded out the team’s times.
Zykan’s time was a personal record.
The result helped the Wildcats place fifth out of 14 teams from varying size classifications.
Warrenton senior Ken Le (20:17) finished 67th and was the top runner for the Warriors.
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