The rain continued for the boys race. As usual, this was the most popular race from a specator standpoint. It's always more crowded on the course for this race than in any other. In the team race, it was expected to be a shootout between Cabell Midland and Fairmont Senior. Individually, Morgantown's Cody Pelliccioni came in as the favorite with only Jefferson's Brandon Doughty and Fairmont Senior's Dayton McVicker seen as potential threats. The shootout didn't happen. Cabell Midland placed 7 in ahead of Fairmont Senior's 3rd runner. What was expected to be a tight battle became a 45 point slaughter. Fairmont Senior was not helped by having one of their front five battling illness, but it wouldn't have mattered. Cabell Midland was too strong on this day to be caught. Individually, it was Brandon Doughty pulling away in the last mile to take the convincing win.

My first checkpoint was the top of the hill which is about 0.7 miles into the race. At this point, Cabell Midland's Jacob Burcham and Jefferson's Brandon Doughty were in the front passing in 4:06. They were followed by Morgantown's Cody Pelliccioni and St. Albans' Andy Bailey in 4:08. Cabell Midland's Ryan Smith was running in 5th in 4:10, followed closely by Morgantown's Lucas Greza in 4:11. Cabell Midland's Michael Niemann was running in 7th with Fairmont Senior's Patrick Stanton close by, both crossing in 4:13. Fairmont Senior's Dayton McVicker and Martinsburg's Nic Bauer rounded out the top 10 in 4:14. Winfield's Patrick Jividen also crossed in 4;14 in 11th. Wheeling Park's Logan Wojcik was in 12th just a second back along with Buckhannon-Upshur's Justin Miller. Jefferson's Cody Marsh led a pack that included Huntington's Ashton Smith and Cabell Midland's Tyler Salmons through in 4:16. Johnson Marshall's Hunter Ankrom and Hampshire's Nathan Whitacre came through just a second behind. Ripley's Preston Whitney and Jefferson's Sam Munnis rounded out the top 20 in 4:18. Winfield's Joe Kirtner and Preston's Brody Born were close behind.

At the mile marker, Jacob Burcham and Brandon Doughty remained side-by-side, crossing in 5:33. Cody Pelliccioni crossed in 5:35 in 3rd. Andy Bailey remained in 4th in 5:37. Lucas Greza was in 5th in 5:39. Dayton McVicker was up to 6th in 5:40. Ryan Smith and Michael Niemann crossed in 5:42 followed closely by Patrick Stanton and Patrick Jividen in 5:43, and 5:44 respectively. Sam Munnis had moved all the way up to 11th and was running beside teammate Cody Marsh. They were at the front of a pack that included Tyler Salmons, Logan Wojcik, and Ashton Smith, all coming through in 5:45. Hunter Ankrom was in 16th in 5:47. Preston Whitney was in 17th with Brody Born, Nathan Whitacre, and Musselman's Austin Rigsby coming through in 5:48 to round out the top 20. Cabell Midland's Collin Meadows, Joe Kirtner, Nic Bauer, Preston's Peter Schwarzenberg, and Cabell Midland's Steven Egnatoff all also crossed in 5:48 or 5:49.

At the top of the hill at the WVU Extension Service Building, which is about 1.4 miles into the race, Brandon Doughty had moved into the lead in 7:51. Cody Pelliccioni was just off him in 7:53. Jacob Burcham had fallen to 3rd in 7:56. Lucas Greza was up to 4th in 7:59. Dayton McVicker was in 5th in 8:03. Andy Bailey was just behind in 8:04. Patrick Stanton was in 7th in 8:09. Tyler Salmons had moved up to 8th in 8:10. Logan Wojcik cross in 8:11 along with Sam Munnis as they rounded out the top 10. Michael Niemann was in 11th at 8:12. Cody Marsh was through in 8:13. Ryan Smith crossed in 8:14. Austin Rigsby came through just ahead of Patrick Jividen and Ashton Smith in 8:16. Preston Whitney and Collin Meadows were through in 8:18 Brody Born was through in 8:19. Peter Schwarzenberg was up to 20th crossing in 8:21.

At the 2 mile mark, Brandon Doughty and Cody Pelliccioni were stride for stride crossing just before the 11:00 minute mark. Lucas Greza was up to 3rd in 11:11. Dayton McVicker was in 4th in 11:13. Jacob Burcham was in 5th in 11:18. Tyler Salmons was up to 6th in 11:22. Patrick Stanton was in 7th in 11:23. Logan Wojcik had moved up to match Stanton at 11:23. Andy Bailey was holding 9th in 11:27. Austin Rigsby had a slight edge over Sam Munnis for 10th in 11:28. Michael Niemann was in 12th in 11:33. Ryan Smith was in 13th in 11:35. Cody Marsh crossed in 11:36, followed closely by Preston Whitney and Brody Born in 11:37. Ashton Smith and Peter Schwarzenberg crossed in 11:38 with Collin Meadows and Patrick Jividen rounding out the top 20 in 11:39.

Coming onto the track, it was all Brandon Doughty. He had made his final move and Pelliccioni was unable to answer. Doughty pulled away for a 19 second win. Cody Pelliccioni easily held onto 2nd. Dayton McVicker made the pass on Lucas Greza to move into 3rd. Greza was just 4 seconds back in 4th. In the sloppy conditions, no one ran under 16:30 and only the front four made it in under 17:00. Logan Wojcik continued his steady move up the chart to a 5th place finish. Jacob Burcham outkicked teammate Tyler Salmons for 6th. Patrick Stanton held onto 8th with ease. Andy Bailey outkicked Austin Rigsby for 9th. Sam Munnis easily held the 11th spot. Ryan Smith used a late sprint to move past Peter Schwarzenberg for 12th. Schwarzenberg used an excellent last mile to move up from 18th into the 13th position. Brody Born was just a second behind in 14th. Michael Niemann kicked past Patrick Jividen in the final stretch to move into 15th. Jividen came up from 20th at the 2 mile to 16th. Ashton Smith and Cody Marsh outkicked Preston Whitney for 17th, and 18th, respectively. Whitney held on for 19th. Collin Meadows rounded out the top 20, giving Cabell Midland 5 in the top 20.

In the search for an MVP, I'd like to look to Cabell Midland, but they all ran so well and they won by so much that no one's performance made a big difference. You could throw any of them out and they still win with ease. So, as in the girls, I look to Jefferson. Jefferson got a big step-up performance from Freshman Cody Grams. He came in expected to be their number 6 runner, but today he ran as number 4. He was picked to get 63rd place and he got 36th. If he runs as normal number 6, Jefferson probably still beats Fairmont Senior for 2nd, but not necessarily. It would have depended on how close to # 5 he ran. Such a big move cannot be ignored when it's instrumental to getting your team onto the podium. For that reason, the 2009 RunWV MVP is Cody Grams.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Considering the conditions, not too bad. Six of the 12 teams finished where expected, and no one moved up or down by more than one place. Two and three switched places. Six and Seven switched and 10 and 11 switched. Individually, 8 of the predicted top 10 finished in the top 10, but only 10 of the predicted top 15 finished in the top 15. They didn't fall apart too bad, though because 22 of the top 25 finished in the top 25. The two who made the move onto the podium were Cabell Midland's Tyler Salmons (picked 24th, got 7th) and St. Albans' Andy Bailey (picked 15th, got 9th). Those who made the move into the top 25 were Cabell Midland's Collin Meadows (picked 30th, got 20th) and Steven Egnatoff (picked 33rd, got 21st) and Parkersburg South's Garrett Lynch (picked 26th, got 25th). The big mover of the day was Billy Hardy of Fairmont Senior who moved up 29 spots from a predicted finish of 83rd to an actual finish of 54th.

I offer my congratulations to the Cabell Midland boys. You improved steadily throughout the season never taking the top spot in the rankings, but finally becoming the favorite at the very end. Your performance at the State Meet was dominating and you left no doubt who the top team in the State was. You ran aggressively and defended your home course well.

I offer my congratulations to Brandon Doughty. You ran a smart race and made your final move on your terms. You have great closing speed, but now you've added great strength to your arsenal. You stepped up your game in a big way this year and the result was a State Championship. The top three runners all return next year, and you can be sure that the other two will be gunning for you.

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