The A-AA Girls closed the morning session. This was a very anticipated team race with three teams having very legitimate shot at the title. The expected tight race didn't happen, though as Shady Spring ran a strong race and scored 21 fewer points than anticipated to take a 20 point win. Individually, Frankfort's Rebekah McBride sped to the front early and never relented as she pulled away for an 11 second win.

My first checkpoint was again the top of the hill. By the time the runners reached that point, four people had broken away from the field. Frankfort's Rebekah McBride was a couple steps ahead of Shady Spring's Chelsea Callaway. About three seconds behind were Shady Spring's Desiree Roseberry and Philip Barbour's Sarah McCauley. There was probably close to 10 seconds before the next group came through. It was a massive pack that included Wheeling Central's Jessie John, Calhoun's Anna Sampson, Grafton's Kaylen Poston, Wheeling Central's Kelley Mortakis, Shady Spring's Kelsie Paine, Grafton's Molly Summers and Chanel Alexander, Wheeling Central's Brianna Robbins, Charleston Catholic's Ally Hoyer, Berkeley Springs' Macy Houck, Ritchie Aly Carpenter, and Berkeley Springs' Kayla Mundey. Next through were Doddridge's Bethany Carroll and PikeView's Chelsea East. Rounding out the top 20 were PikeView's Trish Galligher and Berkeley Springs' Ardath Osbourne.

At the mile mark, Rebekah McBride led the field through, crossing in 6:20. Chelsea Callway was right behind in 6:21. Sarah McCauley and Desiree Roseberry crossed together in 6:25. Then came the still-large pack. At its front was Kelley Mortakis. She was followed by Macy Houck, Jessie John, Anna Sampson, Kayla Mundey, and Aly Carpenter closing out the top 10 at this point. Brianna Robbins was running in 11th, followed by Ally Hoyer. Molly Summers was in 13th, trailed by Kelsey Paine, Kaylen Poston, and Chanel Alexander. Bethany Carroll and Chelsea East crossed together in 17th and 18th. Rounding out the top 20 were Ardath Osbourne and Trinity's Hannah Kinney.

At the top of the hill near the Extension Service building at approximately 1.4 miles, Rebekah McBride had started to open a gap on her nearest competitors. Sarah McCauley had moved into 2nd. Chelsea Callaway held a slight lead over Desiree Roseberry. Jessie John and Aly Carpenter were in the front of a small pack. They were followed by Macy Houck, Kelley Mortakis, and Brianna Robbins. Molly Summers had moved into 10th, followed closely by Chanel Alexander. Kayla Mundey was next through, followed by Anna Sampson, Kelsey Paine, and Kaylen Poston. Ally Hoyer was in 16th with Chelsea East in 17th. Bethany Carroll was in 18th with Shady Spring's Katie Paine and Frankfort's Brittany Armentrout rounding out the top 20.

At the two mile mark, Rebekah McBride had extended her lead to about 11 seconds, crossing in 12:50. Desiree Roseberry had moved into 2nd, just ahead of Sarah McCauley. They had gotten away from Chelsea Callway who held solid control of 4th, crossing in 13:14. Aly Carpenter was running in 5th. Macy Houck was in 6th. I don't have Brianna Robbins in a phot, she could have been anywhere from in front of Carpenter to behind teammates Kelley Mortakis and Jessie John. Molly Summers was holding 10th, crossing in 13:35. Brittany Armentrout had made a major move into 12th. Chanel Alexander was in the front of a pack that included Ally Hoyer, Kayla Mundey, Kristen Poston, and Chelsea East. Kelsie Paine was in 18th with Bethany Carroll in 19th. I think Katie Paine rounded out the top 20.

At the finish, Rebekah McBride had maintained her 11 second advantage, crossing the finish line in 19:31. Desiree Roseberry had taken control of 2nd, coming through in 19:42. Sarah McCauley easily held 3rd and was the final runner under 20:00 with her 19:50. Chelsea Callaway held on for 4th in 20:17. The next 6 places finished within 6 seconds of each other. Brianna Robbins climed to the front of that group with a 20:29. Brittany Armentrout continued her stellar second half of the meet by moving into 6th in 20:31. Molly Summers moved up to 7th and Kelley Mortakis was in 8th, both in 20:32. Macy Houck held on for 9th in 20:34, and Aly Carpenter held on for the final All-State position with a 20:35. Jessie John claimed the 11th spot. Trinity's Sarah Evans used a big last mile to move all the way up to 12th. Kelsey Paine made a forward move in the last mile up to number 13. Ally Hoyer claimed the 14th spot. Kaylen Poston and St. Marys' Ali Johnson ran under 21:00 in taking 15th and 16th. PikeView's Trish Galligher moved up in the last mile to take 17th. Williamstown's Emily Kittle also moved up to take 18th. Chanel Alexander took the 19th spot, and Bethany Carroll rounded out the top 20.

There were only a couple teams that moved up places in the meet. Frankfort moved up to 5th, thanks in large part to Brittany Armentrout's excellent run. Charleston Catholic moved up a spot but didn't have a particular standout, and as in the boys, going from 8 to 7 isn't the move I'm looking for. Shady Spring took the title and had a couple runners move way up the charts. Obviously Desiree Roseberry is worthy of mention with her standout 2nd place finish. However, the big move for them came from Katie Paine, who moved from a predicted finish of 39th to an actual finish of 21st, picking up 13 team points in the process. That massive move up the standings gave Shady Spring all the cushion they needed for a dominant victory. For that reason, Katie Paine is the RunWV MVP of the 2008 State Meet.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? The top 4 teams finished as expected. Fifth and 6th switched places, and 7th and 8th switched places. Individually, only 6 of the predicted top 10 finished in the top 10. Only 10 of the predicted top 15 finished in the top 15. 23 of the predicted to 25 did manage to finish in the top 25. The girls who climbed into the top 10 were Shady Spring's Desiree Roseberry (picked 12th, got 2nd), Wheeling Central's Brianna Robbins (picked 19th, got 5th), Frankfort's Brittany Armentrout (picked 18th, got 6th), and Berkeley Springs' Macy Houck (picked 13th, got 9th). The two who slipped into the top 25 were PikeView's Trish Galligher (picked 30th, got 17th) and Shady Spring's Katie Paine (picked 39th, got 21st). The big mover for the day was Shady Spring's Katie Paine who moved up 18 spots from a predicted finish of 39th to an actual finish of 21st.

I offer my congratulations to the Shady Spring girls. You came into the season number 1, and you held it all year long. There were moments in the season where it looked like it might slip away, but you held it together and performed well as a team on the day that it mattered.

I offer my congratulations to Rebekah McBride. The season perhaps didn't start off as well as you might have liked, but you came on late and you controlled the championship race. You ran it your way and won the meet convincingly.

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.