The A-AA Boys opened the days events. This was one of the more anticipated team races of the day, with Ravenswood looking to take title # 9 in a row and Berkeley Springs favored to prevent that from happening. Individually, Berkeley Springs' Lenny Roach came in as the heavy favorite. In the individual race, Roach did not disappoint as he took control before the first mile and dominated the field to win by 32 seconds.

It didn't appear that there was any particular rabit as the runners took off at the gun. My first checkpoint for this race was at the otp of the hill which is about 0.7 miles into the race. Berkeley Springs' Lenny Roach was in front followed closely by PikeView's Brent Roark and Webster's Skyler McCoy. Next through were Ravenswood's Nathan Rees and Tucker's David Rhodes. They were followed by Berkeley Springs' John Mundey and the Philip Barbour duo of Riley Freeman and John King. Next through were Weir's Ronald Read, Ritchie's Jon Perry, Doddridge's Cuylor Edgell, PikeView's Jordan Weitzel, and Berkeley Springs' Jake Wise. Then came Richwood's Derek Chaffin, Ravenswood's Alex Cole, and Berkeley Springs' Cory Yarrington. Rounding out the top 20 at this point were Magnolia's Joe Feeney, Calhoun's Justin Gerwig, Doddridge's Daniel Cleventer, and Roane's Randy Price.

At the mile mark, Lenny Roach had edged his lead forward a bit. He came through in 5:16 with Skyler McCoy coming through in 2nd in 5:20. Another 4-5 seconds back came Ronald Read, Brent Roak, and Nathan Rees. Coming through in about 5:28 were John Mundey and David Rhodes. At 5:31 was Cuylor Edgell, Riley Freeman, and John King. Jordan Weitzel was about a just a couple seconds back, just outside the top 10. Jon Perry was next through. At about 5:36 were Alex Cole, Derek Chaffin, and Cory Yarrington. Jake Wise was next through. Coming through in 5:38 was Daniel Clevenger. Grafton's Drew Woodford had moved into 18th place just a second or two behind Clevenger. Wheeling Central's Rob Bonenberger was running in 19th, and Joe Feeney led a tight pack for 20th.

At the Extension Service Building, which is approximately 1.4 miles into the race, Lenny Roach had extended his lead considerably. My notes and photos fail me, but I think Ronald Read has moved into 2nd ahead of Skyler McCoy. Nathan Rees was running in 4th. Brenk Roark was holding 5th with David Rhodes in 6th. John Mundey was in 7th and Cuylor Edgell was holding 8th. I think Riley Freeman and John King were still rounding out the top 10. Jordan Weitzel was holding 11th, and Drew Woodford had made a strong move into 12th. Alex Cole was in 13th. Derek Chaffin was in 14th, just ahead of Daniel Clevenger, Jake Wise, and Cory Yarrington. I don't have them in a photo, but I think Jon Perry and Rob Bonenberger might have been next. Philip Barbour's Chris Toompas led Roane's Randy Price and Ravenswood's Derek Murray to the mark.

The next checkpoint was the two-mile marker. Lenny Roach came through in 10:36 and had opened a 19 second lead on Ronald Read. Nathan Rees had moved into third about 6-7 seconds behind. Brent Roark had moved into 4th, and David Rhodes had moved into 5th. Skyler McCoy was holding 6th. John Mundey was in 7th with Cuylor Edgell right behind, coming through in 11:10. Drew Woodford had continued his move and was up to 9th. Riley Freeman and John King were battling for 10th. Derek Chaffin had made a nice move into 11th. I think Jake Wise was the next to come through, followed by Daniel Clevenger, Alex Cole, and Rob Bonenberger. I'm not sure if he was the next through or not but my next photo is Jon Perry. The next photo was Austin Chambers. The next photo is Randy Price and Chris Toompas. The next photo is Derek Murray. I think Cory Yarrington is in the mix somewhere but I don't have the photo to put him in the right spot.

Coming onto the track, Lenny Roach owned the day. He had put the field away and crossed in 16:15. Nathan Rees used a strong kick to edge past Ronald Read for 2nd, with the pair crossing in 16:47 and 16:49. David Rhodes continued his strong run and finished just a second back in 16:50. Brent Roark just held off the late kick off Cuylor Edgell with both crossing in 16:55. Drew Woodford moved up yet another spot to finish 7th in 17:00. John Mundey held 8th. Skyler McCoy just held onto 9th, less than a second ahead of Derrick Chaffin. The top 10 all crossed at 17:05 or better. Riley Freeman was just off the pace with a 17:08. John King polished off his outstanding race with a 12th place finish. Jake Wise held 13th. Daniel Clevenger was 14th, just ahead of Alex Cole, Derek Murray, and Rob Bonenberger. Randy Price and John Perry also crossed under 17:30, and Austin Chambers rounded out the top 20.

In looking for the MVP for the A-AA Boys Race, there are no clear cut choices. There weren't any particularly big jumps that moved teams up two or three places. Philip Barbour got a great run from John King, but they still finished right where they were expected to finish. Richwood got the great run from Derrick Chaffin, but they also finished right where expected. Grafton got a very nice runs from Drew Woodford and Jordan Riffle, but it didn't move them up the standings any. Wheeling Central and Charleston Catholic each moved up a spot, but going from 8 to 7 and from 10 to 9 isn't really what I'm looking for. So, in the end, I have to look at Ravenswood and how they got past Berkeley Springs. Here's what makes it difficult. No one person moved up enough to make the difference. However, if you look at how the last stages of the race unfolded, I think you have to end up with Ben Schindler being the difference maker. Schindler only finished 4 places above his predicted finish, but the important thing is that he passed three of those people in the last 75 meters. Only two were team points, but he made the move when it mattered for his team. For that reason, Ben Schindler is the RunWV MVP for the 2008 State Meet.

So, how did RunWV do on the predictions? Obviously, the champion pick was incorrect, which turned out to be a theme for the day. Ravenswood pulled off number 9 in a row. Teams three through six finished as expected. Wheeling Central outpaced Doddridge to move up one, and Charleston Catholich got by Weir to move up a spot. Individually, 8 of the predicted top 10 did indeed gain All-State Honors. 12 of the predicted top 15 finished in the top 15, and 21 of the top 25 finished in the top 25. The two who stepped into the top 10 were Grafton's Drew Woodford (picked 14th, got 7th) and Richwood's Derrick Chaffin (picked 21st, got 10th). The four who climbed into the top 25 were Philip Barbour's John King (picked 29th, got 12th), Roane's Randy Price (picked 27th, got 18th), Cameron's Austin Chambers (picked 26th, got 20th), and Philip Barbour's John Higgins (picked 28th, got 24th). The big mover for the day was Philip Barbour's John King who moved up 17 places from a predicted finish of 29th to an actual finish of 12th.

I offer my congratulations to the Ravenswood boys. That's 9 in a row. You had doubters this year, and apparently I was one of them. You got the job done and continued the Ravenswood dynasty for another year.

I offer my congratulations to Lenny Roach. You ran with a target on your back all season. It's difficult to be the one that everyone is gunning for, but you've handled the pressure with ease. You dominated the field on the most important day of the season. You are a 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.