The AAA Girls race opened the day, and it was greeted by heavy fog and very cool temperatures. I considered this a three-team race, with Morgantown holding the mantle of favorite over Preston and Cabell Midland. Individually, this was probably my most anticipated race. The quality depth of the Class AAA girls is at its highest level in my memory. The team race certainly lived up to its billing, actually coming in closer than anticipated with the top 3 coming in within 11 points of each other. Morgantown did come through with the win, by a narrow 5 point margin over Preston, who was in turn, only 6 points ahead of Cabell Midland.

Just past the half-mile mark (at roughly 0.6 miles), the expected crew had already claimed spots at the front. North Marion's Keri Bland, the Preston duo of Amber Riley and Kaylyn Christopher, Morgantown's Maria Dalzot, and Elkins' Heather Saffel. They were joined by Nicholas' Hannah Henderson.

At the mile mark, those six ladies were still together, coming through at roughly 5:45. Next through were Jefferson's Brooke Boening and Nitro's Ashton Clemons. Cabell Midland's Rachel Riley was the next to cross the marker. Preston's Ashley Teets, Morgantown's Monica Chase, and Cabell Midland's Alicia Thomas were the next group. Robert C. Byrd's Lauren DeMarco, Cabell Midland's Danielle Winningham, and Ripley's Chelsea Knotts were next through, followed by Spring Valley's Kylie Lemons and Hampshire's Rana Conneway at this early stage of the race.

At the two mile mark Keri Bland had opened a slight lead on Maria Dalzot, coming through in 11:43 to Dalzot's 11:44. Dalzot had put roughly 4 seconds on Amber Riley who crossed in 11:48. Riley had in turn put about 4 seconds on Kaylyn Christopher and Heather Saffel who crossed in 11:52. Brooke Boening had taken control of 6th, coming through in 12:04. Hannah Henderson, Ashton Clemons, and Rachel Riley were the closest to her, coming through in 12:14. Alicia Thomas and Ashley Teets were approximately 10 seconds back. They were followed by Monica Chase, Danielle Winningham, and Rana Conneway. Wheeling Park's Courtney Yaeger and Morgantown's Emma Berry had moved up in the field.

Peering up toward the barn (a landmark on the Mineral Wells course that means you have roughly 1/4 mile to go), I could see a figure emerge around the corner. She was moving very quickly, and I was pretty sure I recognized the stride. Then as she made the next-to-last turn, I could tell for sure...it was Keri Bland, and she was definitely on the fly. The gap wasn't quite as dramatic as it seemed, but Bland did pull away to a 7 second victory in an outstanding 18:35, a full 35 seconds faster than her winning time from a year ago. Kaylyn Christopher had pulled into 2nd finishing in 18:42. Amber Riley moved into 3rd, finishing in 18:46. Heather Saffel pulled up to 4th, finishing in 18:53. Maria Dalzot held on for 5th in 18:58. The top 5 girls all ran under 19:00, an outstanding feat for the group. Brooke Boening ended up running in no man's land, never really being in contact with the front five, but easily running away from those behind her. Her 19:10 put her 26 seconds ahead of 7th place. The next group came in very close together. Rachel Riley pulled out for a 3-second lead on the group, holding off Hannah Hederson, Alicia Thomas, and Preston's Ashley Teets. Ashton Clemens was only 1 second back of that group, just missing All-State status, but still running well under 20:00. Wheeling Park's Courtney Yaeger and Morgantown's Monica Chase also came in at under 20:00. As usual, the NCAC showed its muscle, taking the top 5 individual places plus another of the top 10 and taking 4 of the top 5 team places, including the top 2.

With few teams climbing higher than their expected place, it's somewhat difficult to come up with an MVP for the meet. Consideration is given to Preston's Jordan Hamric who finished 6 spots higher than expected, which was critical to preserving Preston's 2nd place finish. However, we're going with a runer from a team that did step forward a bit, albeit only from a projected 5th into 4th. I believe this is the first time I've ever had a repeat performer for the MVP award (Fool me once, good for you. Fool me twice shame on me!). This year, as with last year, I'm going with Cara Parrish. Last year, I picked her 44th, and she moved up to 29th. This year, I picked her 54th and she moved up to 39th and picked up 14 team points along the way. If that doesn't happen, Elkins takes the 4th place spot.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Mixed results, as always. The top three were correctly placed, and 4th and 5th simply swapped positions. 6th and 7th also swapped spots. The rest of the field stayed true to form. Individually, we correctly picked 9 of the All-State performers. We nailed 13 of the top 15 and 20 of the top 25. The surprise All-State performer was Cabell Midland's Alicia Thomas (picked 12th, got 9th). She has made a habit of stepping up a level at the State Meet. Those who climbed into the top 25 were Cabell Midland's Rachel Williams (picked 27th, got 19th), Ripley's Chelsea Knotts (picked 29th, got 20th), Spring Valley's Kylie Lemons (picked 30th, got 23rd), Cabell Midland's Alexandra Jaskot (picked 28th, got 24th), and Hedgesville's Brittany Thomas (picked 34th, got 25th). The big mover of the day was Cabell Midland's Christine Schussler who climbed 17 spots from a predicted place of 45th to an actual place of 28th.

We offer our congratulations to the Morgantown girls. You were ranked at the top of the heap for the entire season, and you did not let anyone take that away when it mattered.

We offer our congratulations to Keri Bland. You had a rough start to the season, but you realized what was going on and the quality of competition you were going to face this year, and you raised yourself to another level. Your desire and drive down the stretch were admirable and impressive.

We offer our congratulations to the girls who shook up our predictions. You prove what we try to tell people every year. Rankings and predictions do not determine the finish. You determine the finish.