The A-AA Boys Closed the days proceedings. This was one of the more anticipated individual races of the day, with Doddridge's Levi Grandt and Berkeley Springs' Lenny Roach splitting their three meetings with no race being won by more than 11 seconds. Roach took the first by 11 seconds, Grandt took the last two by margins of 11 and 7 seconds, respectively. We also got to see if Ravenswood could continue their domination and make it 8 in a row. Ravenswood came through with flying colors to win number 8 by 16 points. Individually, Levi Grandt made it two years in a row as he pulled away in the last mile to win by 17 seconds.

At the gun, Webster's Skyler McCoy, Richwood's Dustin Wood, and a runner I couldn't identify dashed to the front. It looked like it might be a Winfield or Charleston Catholic uniform, but from where I was standing it was hard to tell. After they rounded the baseball field and came back into sight, a runner I couldn't identify was in the front. It may have been Shady Spring's Nick Lucento, but again I was too far away to tell for sure. He was trailed closely by Doddridge's Levi Grandt and Berkeley Springs' Lenny Roach. At the top of the hill at nearly the 3/4 mile mark, Levi Grandt had moved to the front with Lenny Roach right on his shoulder. Weir's Stewart Jones was just a few steps back as those three had gapped the field. The next group through included Tucker's Lucas Warner, Ravenswood's Nathan Rees, Shady Springs' Nick Lucento, and Webster Skyler McCoy. A small gap led to Wheeling Central's Rob Bonenberger, Winfield's Matt Burton, Ritchie's Tyler Sellers, Tucker's David Rhodes, Berkeley Springs' John Mundey, and Philip Barbour's John King.

At the mile marker, it was still Levi Grandt and Lenny Roach in the lead, coming through in 5:13 and 5:14, respectively. Stewart Jones was still in solid command of 3rd, passing in 5:20. Skyler McCoy had moved into 4th place crossing in 5:28, about a step ahead of Lucas Warner. Nathan Rees was running in 6th just ahead of Nick Lucento each crossing in about 5:32. A pack of 6 followed, with Dustin Wood at the front, followed by Weir's Josh Webb, Ravenswood's Ben Wise, Ritchie's Kyle Harris, Doddridge's Cuylor Edgell, and Wheeling Central's Rob Bonenberger. This group hit the marker at 5:37. The next group included Berkeley Springs' John Mundey, David Rhodes, Matt Burton. They were followed by Weir's Ronald Read. Next through was Philip Barbour's John King. The top 20 at the mile marker was rounded out by a group including Ravenswood's Kurt Gray, Tyler Sellers, and Winfield's Cam Jividen.

At the Extension Service Building, which is approximately 1.4 miles into the race, Levi Grandt and Lenny Roach were still battling, with Grandt about a stride ahead. Stewart Jones was about 9 seconds behind. Skyler McCoy was still in 4th. Lucas Warner was still holding 5th. Nathan Rees was running in 6th with Nick Lucento holding 7th. Ben Wise is in here somewhere, but I'm not sure exactly where. I think he's behind Lucento at this point, but I don't have a photo. Rob Bonenberger and Kyle Harris are in my next photo, which I think is 9th and 10th. I think they're followed by Ronald Read and Josh Webb. I only have the backs of those two in a picture, so I'm not 100% certain that's who it is. They're trailed by Dustin Wood, John Mundey, and Cuylor Edgell. Matt Burton, David Rhodes, and Kurt Gray are next, followed by Cam Jividen. John King rounded out the top 20 at this point.

The next checkpoint was the two-mile marker. Levi Grandt had opened up about a 2 second gap on Lenny Roach at this point, coming through in 10:33 with Roach following at 10:35. Stewart Jones had continued to stretch his gap, coming through in 10:50, a full 15 seconds ahead of 4th. Skyler McCoy continued to hold 4th. I missed some pictures here. It took them too long to register in my camera to get them as quick as the runners were coming through. I think Lucas Warner was still in 5th at this point, with Ben Wise and Nathan Rees in 6th and 7th. I think Nick Lucento was in 8th with Rob Bonenberger in 9th. I think Kyle Harris was in 10th at the point, but Ronald Read may have gotten by him by now. John Mundey was next, followed by Dustin Wood and Matt Burton. I think they were followed by Cuylor Edgell. Kurt Gray and David Rhodes were next through. Cam Jividen was running in 18th. I think that Josh Webb and John King rounded out the top 20 at this point. I may have missed people coming through, as I said, some pictures didn't register in time to take the next photo.

Coming on to the track, Levi Grandt had pulled away. The only question was whether or not he would eclipse the course record set earlier in the day by Ryan Beabout. Grandt was able to top the mark by 14 seconds, finishing in 16:06. Lenny Roach easily held on for 2nd, finishing in 16:23. Stewart Jones easily held onto 3rd. Skyler McCoy held on for 4th. Ben Wise used a strong last mile to move into 5th place. Nathan Rees just held off the late kick of Lucas Warner for 6th. Nick Luento outkicked Rob Bonenberger to the line to take 8th place. Ronald Read held the final All-State position solidly. He finished 9 seconds ahead of the 11th place finisher.

In looking for the MVP for the A-AA Boys Race, there was one team that really upped their performance level. Wheeling Central went from a predicted 10th place finish to an actual 6th place finish. Doddridge improved by two team places, but there was no single performance that guided that rise. A couple other teams raised one team place, but there wasn't anything truly MVP-worthy for them either. There was one runner on Wheeling Central whose performance was essential to their rise. He was predicted to finish 64th and finished 47th. That 17 position rise included 15 team points. Had he actually finished 64th, they would have lost two team places and nearly a third. His step forwared allowed his team to finish much higher than expected, and as a result Wheeling Central's Chris Howard is the RunWV MVP for the 2007 A-AA Boys Race.

So, how did RunWV do on the predictions? The top 4 teams held as expected. Doddridge move up two spots to 5th, and Wheeling Central moved up 4 spots to 6th. Tucker and Grafton each raised a spot. Richwood lost a spot. Ritchie lost a couple spots, and Shady Spring fell five. That's quite a bit of movement for the team positions. Individually, 9 of the predicted top ten did indeed gain All-State Honors. 14 of the predicted top 15 did finish in the top 15, and 21 of the predicted top 25 did finish in the top 25. The runner who stepped up to take an All-State Spot was Wheeling Central's Rob Bonenberger (picked 15th, got 9th). The runners who climbed into the top 25 were Winfield's Matt Burton (picked 34th, got 15th), Winfield's Cam Jividen (picked 40th, got 17th), Berkeley Springs' Denny Golden (picked 29th, got 20th), and PikeView's Jordan Weitzel (picked 32nd, got 22nd). The big mover for the day was Winfield's Cam Jividen who moved up 23 spots from a predicted finish of 40th to an actual finish of 17th.

I offer my congratulations to the Ravenswood boys. That's 8 in a row. You continue to set the standard in Class A-AA. The faces change, but the results stay the same. You took the excellence of your predecessors and you used it as a guide for yourselves. You've nearly achieved a decade of dominance.

I offer my congratulations to Levi Grandt. You have shown the extreme desire to excel that few possess. You overcame a lost track season and a lost summer and still managed to win in convincing fashion. You've proven that a willingness to work and to empty yourself on the course pays off. You are the two-time State Meet Champion.

I offer my congratulations to the boys who shook up our predictions. You prove what I try to tell people every year. Rankings and predictions mean very little in the grand scheme of things. Nothing is determined until the race is run.