Amber Riley Biography
Submitted by Mike McMillion
Amber Riley
(born January 6, 1989) was
a West Virginia high school female middle-distance runner. She was born in
Morgantown, but grew up in Bruceton Mills. She is the daughter of Richard and Kimberly Riley who had two children, Cody and
Amber. As a youngster she participated on soccer and basketball teams.
Riley went
to Preston High from 2003-2005, then her family moved to Morgantown, where she
finished out high school at University High, while graduating in 2007. She
started running her freshman year of high school at Preston, because her
basketball coach wanted her to.
While in
high school, Riley was coached by Paul Martin at Preston and Ed Frohnapfel at
University. She preferred track more than cross country. This could be because
of the rivalry between Amber herself and Kaylyn Christopher, former teammate at
Preston High, becoming the first and second high school girls to go sub-5 in
the 1600m. The final times were Christopher 4:55.85 and Riley 4:58.01. She was
the 2006 West Virginia state cross country champion, and earned all-state
honors all four years. She was runner-up in both the 800m and 1600m at the 2007
state meet. She finished eighth in the 2k steeplechase at the Nike Outdoor
Nationals. She ran all four years at the Foot Locker South Regional at McAlpine
Greenway Park in Charlotte, NC, but never qualified for nationals. Riley had
personal bests of 2:15 in the 800m, 4:57 in the 1600m, 10:53 in the 3200m and
7:04 in the 2k steeple. She typically ran around 45 miles a week.
After high
school, Riley attended Auburn University from 2007-2010 and then transferred
back home to run for the Mountaineers. Peter Watson was her coach at Auburn and
the infamous Sean Cleary was her coach at WVU.
During 2007
Cross Country, she finished as one of Auburn's top four runners in all six
competitions. She was Auburn's No. 2 runner and 47th overall at the NCAA South
Regional in 22:33.99 in the 6k race. She also placed 45th at the SEC
Championships in 22:22.23, placed 10th overall at the UT-Chattanooga Invite
(11:38) and 13th at the Bulldog Stampede (18:35.69), and finished 29th overall
at the Tiger Invitational in 17:52.59.
During 2008
Indoor, she placed 17th in the mile and helped the distance medley relay team
finish fifth at the SEC Championships. Her season-best time of 5:04.30 in the
mile came at the ISU Classic. She was 11th in the 800m at the Tom Jones
Memorial Classic.
During 2008
Outdoor, she competed at four meets. She placed third in the 1500m at the LSU
Alumni Gold meet with a time of 4:40.82 and placed 20th in the steeplechase at
the Penn Relays with a time of 10:56.30.
During 2008
Cross Country, she had four top-40 finishes in her sophomore campaign. She was
Auburn's No. 2 runner in two meets. She placed 28th at the NCAA South Regional
with a career-best 6K time of 22:02.01. She opened season with a sixth-place
finish at Powerade Invitational (two miles).
During 2009
Indoor, she competed in the 3000m (ninth place), 5000m and on the distance
medley relay team at the SEC Championships. She won the 3000m at the
Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup with a time of 9:39.59 that ranks seventh in school
history. She also won the 3k at the Tyson Invitational in 9:40.80.
During 2009
Outdoor, she competed at the NCAA Mideast Regional in both the 1500m (16th) and
3,000m steeplechase (20th). She qualified in the steeplechase at the Sun Angel
Classic, clocking a school-record time of 10:39.83. She qualified for the 1500m
at the War Eagle Invitational, finishing fourth in 4:25.73, which ranks sixth
in school history. She was fifth in the steeplechase and 11th in the 1500m at
the SEC Championships.
During 2009
Cross Country, she did not compete.
Through all
of this success Riley had her number one supporters, her family, by her side
her whole life. Also, throughout her running career she had the support and
guidance of Sean Cleary and Heather Parks, who Riley said taught her so much.
While in
college, she studied nutrition and dietetics.
Amber Riley
is currently serving in the Army as a military police officer, stationed in
Germany.
High School Running Career
West Virginia High School State XC
Championships:
• 2003: 5000
meters / 3rd place / 19:47.00 / 11-01-2003 (Mineral Wells, WV)
• 2004: 5000
meters / 4th place / 19:56.00 / 10-30-2004 (Mineral Wells, WV)
• 2005: 5000
meters / 3rd place / 18:46.00 / 10-29-2005 (Mineral Wells, WV)
• 2006: 5000
meters / 1st place/ 19:41.29 / 10-28-2006 (Ona, WV)
Riley was a 4 time all-state cross
country runner.
Foot Locker South Regional Cross
Country Championships (McAlpine Greenway Park in Charlotte, NC):
• 2003: 5000
meters / 21st place / 19:44 / 11-29-2003 (Freshman/Sophomore Girls Race)
• 2004: 5000
meters / 5th place / 19:07 / 11-27-2004 (Freshman/Sophomore Girls Race)
• 2005: 5000
meters / 66th place / 18:43 / 11-26-2005 (Seeded Girls Race)
• 2006: 5000
meters / 48th place/ 18:39 / 11-25-2006 (Seeded Girls Race)
West Virginia High School State Track
Championships:
• 2004: 800
meters / 11th place / 2:29.07; 1,600 meters / 4th place / 5:23.35; 3,200 meters
/ 3rd place / 12:00.65; 4x800 Relay / 1st place / 9:50.29 (Laidley
Field/Charleston, WV)
• 2005:
1,600 meters / 6th place / 5:28.12; 4x400 Relay / 2nd place / 4:07.50 (Laidley
Field/Charleston, WV)
• 2006:
1,600 meters / 2nd place / 5:04.55 (Laidley Field/Charleston, WV)
• 2007: 800
meters / 2nd place / 2:15.51; 1,600 meters / 2nd place / 4:58.01 (Laidley
Field/Charleston, WV)
Riley was an 8 time all-state track
runner and the second West Virginia high school female runner to go sub-5 in
the 1600 meter run.