The wind had started to increase in strength by the time girls race got underway. This was expected to be a pretty solid Berkeley Springs victory, coming in as a 32 point favorite (assuming Meghan Mock ran). It was learned during the race that Mock was not running, but that just meant Berkeley Springs was still an 18 point favorite. This turned into the biggest upset of the day. Berkeley Springs ran well. Four of their front five finished higher than predicted, and the other was only off by 9 places. Doddridge just put together one of those incredible days where everything goes right. They almost matched their Regional score at the State Meet. Each runner on the team ran well. They pulled off three All-State Positions and had all five in the top 25. Individually, Rachel Buser did the expected and easily ran away with her 3rd title, winning by just under one minute. Her time on the wet, sloppy course stood for the moment as the 6th fastest on the record books (later bumped down to 8th after the AAA race).

As the gun sounded, Berkeley Springs' Rachel Buser and Wheeling Central's Stephanie Caruso and Lauren Bauer bolted to the lead as the runners disappeared from sight.

My first checkpoint was at about the 3/4 mile mark. Rachel Buser was already well out in front. Stephanie Caruso was narrowly ahead of Winfield's Megan Truelove and Berkeley Springs' Breanna Henry. Berkeley Springs' Kari Mundey was holding 5th. Ritchie's Melanie Manning was in 6th, just ahead of Doddridge's Maria Saunders. Winfield's Lisa Day was running in 8th with Logan's Darby Mullen right on her heels in 9th. Lauren Bauer was at the front of a small pack that included Williamstown's Nici Rea and Grafton's Megan Miller for 10th.

At the mile mark, Rachel Buser had established a 17 second lead, coming through in 6:37. Stephanie Caruso had started to take control of 2nd, moving 6 seconds ahead in 6:54. Breanna Henry had moved into 3rd, just ahead of Megan Truelove, crossing in 7:00 and 7:01, respectively. Kari Mundey was in 5th in 7:02. Maria Saunders had moved into 6th in 7:03. Naomi Hyde had moved all the way up to 7th, crossing in 7:05. Lauren Bauer was in 8th. Nici Rea was up to 9th, followed closely by Melanie Manning, Megan Miller, and Ritchie's Aly Carpenter.

At the two mile mark, I can't give times because I didn't write them down. Rachel Buser was obviously even further ahead. Stephanie Caruso was leaving little doubt about 2nd place. Maria Saunders had made the move into 3rd. Megan Truelove was holding 4th, with Kari Mundey in 5th. Naomi Hyde had moved up a spot to 6th. Doddridge's Emily Coffman had made a major move into 7th place. Breanna Henry was holding 8th. My pictures and notes are a little sketchy here, so I'm not sure about those last two places or who was right after them.

At the finish, Rachel Buser crossed the line before anyone else made it onto the track, taking the win by a massive 59 seconds in 20:06. Stephanie Caruso maintained her solid control of 2nd, crossing in 21:05. Maria Saunders held onto her 3rd place spot, crossing the line in 21:24. Naomi Hyde continued her strong last half of the race, moving up to 4th place in a time of 21:35. Kari Mundey won a kick to the finish with Megan Truelove for 5th, both recording times of 21:38. Emily Coffman held strong for 7th in 21:51. Nici Rea moved up to 8th in 21:57. Lauren Bauer was right behind in 9th in 22:00. A tight kick to the finish saw spots 10 through 12 finish within half a second of each other. Melanie Manning won that kick over Megan Miller and Charleston Catholic's Kathryn Potesta.

This is probably the easiest choice I've ever had for an MVP. Doddridge's Emily Coffman was only 10th in her Conference Meet. She was only 15th at her Regional Meet. Today, at the State Meet, she was 7th. Emily Coffman was predicted for a 38th place finish. She moved up an incredible 31 spots, 21 of them team points. That spectacular show of determination was instrumental in Doddridge's upset of Berkeley Springs for the Team Championship. While her step-up performance certainly wasn't the only one the Bulldogs received, it was easily the biggest.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Well...There was only one team that finished exactly where they were suppposed to. 1 and 2 flipped places. 3 and 4 flipped places. 5 and 7 flipped places. 8 and 9 flipped places. Nobody was too far off, but just Ritchie was where they were predicted to be. Individually, 8 of the predicted top 10 did take home All-State plaques, but only 11 of the predicted top 15 finished in the top 15, and 19 of the predicted top 25 finished in the top 25. Not the best set of picks. The girls that stepped up to move into an All-State position were Doddridge's Emily Coffman (picked 38th, got 7th) and Williamstown's Nici Rea (picked 14th, got 8th). The girls who climbed into the top 25 were Doddridge's Emily Coffman (picked 38th, got 7th), Doddridge's Kylee Boring (picked 26th, got 17th), Tucker's Mary Beth Smith (picked 27th, got 20th), Grafton's Kaylen Poston (picked 32nd, got 21st), Grafton's Molly Summers (picked 37th, got 23rd), and Doddridge's Julia Zorn (picked 46th, got 24th). The big mover for the day was Doddridge's Emily Coffman who, as I've already established, was only picked to finish 38th but ran to an amazing 7th place finish. In a look to the future, the top two freshmen were Williamstown's Nici Rea (8th) and Berkeley Springs' Ardath Osborne (14th).

I offer my congratulations to the Doddridge girls. You believed in yourselves and each other. You worked all season long as a team fighting toward a single goal. You performed at a level that maybe no one but yourselves thought was possible. You saw the water, the wind, and the mud, and said "Who Cares?" You all stepped up as a team. I normally try to be as unbiased in my reporting of meets as I possibly can, but these are my girls, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I've never been happier to have been wrong about a set of picks. From top to bottom, you girls astounded me today.

I offer our congratulations to Rachel Buser. Another dominant year, and you continue to cement yourself among the State's All-Time greats. I only recall one 4-for-4, that being Jessica Taylor from Fayetteville. That's very strong company you're on the verge of joining. You've won three times, all in smashing fashion. You've yet to be challenged at the State Meet. You carry yourself as a champion should, acting with courtesy and respect to the sport and your fellow competitors.

I offer our congratulations to the girls who shook up our predictions. You prove what I try to tell people every year. Rankings and predictions don't mean a thing. That's why we run the race.