Class 1 State Wrap-Up


Ashley Riley Leaves No Doubt, Wins By Over 1:00

There was never much doubt going into the race, but at Saturday's Class 1 State Championships, South Nodaway (Platte Valley) junior Ashley Riley left absolutely no doubt about who was the best female runner in the state in Class 1. We got to meet up with Riley on Friday ahead of her race:

As you can see, she was all confidence heading into Saturday's competition, hoping to remain undefeated on the season. Riley had already faced much of her biggest competition throughout the season as District 8 was by far the toughest district in the state on the girls side of Class 1 and handled them all fairly easily so the only thing in her way was the tough state course.

 

Essentially from the start, it was Riley vs. the lead vehicle. Nobody was even close to her as she came across the 1 mile mark 11 seconds ahead of Koshkonong junior Leslie Case and 14 seconds ahead of Mound City junior Emma Derr. It was already over before it had even started...

C1 Girls 1 Mile Results

C1 Girls 1 Mile (Twitter)

The lead stretched as they rolled through 2 miles to 40 seconds as Riley rolled through in 12:33 and the next closest girl to her was Derr in 13:13. St. Joseph Christian sophomore Audrey Maggart had moved into 3rd, with Case, Van Buren's Jenny Morey and Salisbury's Nicole Helm right on her shoulder. Riley would surge up Firehouse Hill and put another 30 second gap on the field in that 3rd mile as she took the state championship wire-to-wire in 19:55.53, 1:03 seconds ahead of Derr in 2nd place. Riley's sub-20:00 was one of only 2 sub-21:00s in the race and was the 9th fastest Class 1 girls time in state history. That she ran it all alone makes it even more impressive. We spoke with Riley after her race to see how she was feeling after such a dominating victory:



After Derr in 2nd was Maggart as the Preseason #5 made even better on our preseason ranking. Behind her was Morey for her 4th all-state of her career, but 8th total as she has 4 all-state honors in softball, as well. Behind Morey was a battle between Helm and New Haven freshman Emma McIntyre, a battle that was won by McIntyre in the end. Morey was the only senior in the top 10 and one of only 3 seniors who earned individual medals on Saturday.

The biggest development in Class 1 girls this season was the injuries to preseason #1 Julia McIntyre from New Haven. McIntyre had not been herself all year and MoMileSplit finally received confirmation from Coach John Tucker that McIntyre had been dealing with two separate injury issues throughout the season. Nevertheless, her natural ability showed throughout the season as she was able to remain competitive and helpful for her team in the face of her ailments.



Class 1 Results

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