The A-AA Boys closed the day's events. This was expected to be a tight battle between Grafton and Berkeley Springs. That tight battle just didn't happen as Grafton ran away with the title, winning by a massive 41 points. The battle ended up being for 2nd place as the next four teams were separated by just 10 points. Individually, Berkeley Springs' John Mundey came in as the favorite, but it was Grafton's day as their Drew Woodford took the lead early in the final mile and pulled away for the 16 second win.

My first checkpoint was at the top of the hill which is about 0.7 miles into the race. Berkeley Springs' John Mundey and Tucker's David Rhodes were the first to the top, crossing in 4:13. Ritchie's Jon Perry was just behind in 4:14. Richwood's Derrick Chaffin was at the front of a 4:15 pack that included Grafton's Drew Woodford, Philip Barbour's Riley Freeman, and PikeView's Jordan Weitzel. Philip Barbour's Chris Toompas was in 8th at 4:19 with Scott's Chase Nelson crossing in the same time. Ravenswood's Matt Knowlton was holding the 10th spot in 4:20. Frankfort's Darian Martz was in 11th, just ahead of Berkeley Spring's Jake Wise, each in 4:21. Doddridge's Daniel Clevenger was in 13th in 4:23. Cameron's Austin Chambers was 14th in 4:24. Berkeley Spring's Cory Yarrington was 15th in 4:26. Doddridge's Tanner Mattie was 16th in 4:27. Tyler Consolidated's Aaron Estep was in 17th in 4:28. Richwood's Andrew Shaffer and Scott's Will Shaffer crossed in 4:29. St. Marys' Eric Hamilton crossed in 4:30 to round out the top 20, just ahead of Williamstown's Mitch Waggoner and Wayne's Forrest Reed.

At the mile mark, John Mundey had taken sole possession of 1st place, crossing in 5:38. Derrick Chaffin had moved into 2nd in 5:40. David Rhodes was in 3rd in 5:41. Drew Woodford was in 4th in 5:42. Jordan Weitzel was holding 5th in 5:43. Jon Perry was in 6th in 5:45. Riley Freeman was running in 7th in 5:47. Chris Toompas remained in 8th in 5:49. Matt Knowlton had a slight edge over Chase Nelson for 9th with both crossing in 5:50. Daniel Clevenger was in 11th in 5:52. Darian Martz and Jake Wise crossed in 5:54 with Austin Chambers close behind. Cory Yarrington crossed in 5:57. Will Shaffer came through in 5:58. Andrew Shaffer crossed in 5:59. Tanner Mattie held 18th in 6:00. Aaron Estep also crossed at 6:00. Forrest Reed hit the line at 6:01 to round out the top 20.

At the Extension Service Building, which is approximately 1.4 miles into the race, John Mundey continued to lead, coming through in 8:06. Drew Woodford had moved into 2nd in 8:08. Derrick Chaffin was in 3rd in 8:09. David Rhodes was in 4th in 8:12. Jordan Weitzel remained in 5th in 8:14. Riley Freeman was up to 6th in 8:20. Matt Knowlton had a slight edge over Daniel Clevenger for 7th with both crossing in 8:22. Chase Nelson was in 9th in 8:24, and Chris Toompas was holding 10th in 8:25. Jon Perry had fallen to 11th in 8:27. Jake Wise was in 12th in 8:29. Austin Chambers came through in 8:31 in 13th. Forrest Reed had moved up to 14th in 8:33, just ahead of Darian Martz. Will Shaffer was up to 16th in 8:34. Tanner Mattie was in 17th in 8:35. Cory Yarrington was holding 18th in 8:36. Philip Barbour's Charles Anderson had moved into 19th position crossing in 8:37. Westside's Cameron Davis had moved into 20th in 8:39.

At the two mile mark, John Mundey remained in the lead, but Drew Woodford had moved up to his shoulder with both crossing in 11:19. They had started to gap Derrick Chaffin who came through 4 seconds back. No one else remained in contention as Jordan Weitzel and David Rhodes crossed together in 11:37. Riley Freeman was in 6th in 11:42, just ahead of Matt Knowlton. Daniel Cleveger was in 8th in 11:46. Chris Toompas was in 9th in 11:49. Chase Nelson was holding 10th in 11:50. Jake Wise was in 11th in 11:53. Jon Perry and Austin Chambers crossed in 11:57. Will Shaffer was up to 14th in 12:00. Charles Anderson had moved up to 15th in 12:01. Forrest Reed and Tanner Mattie crossed in 12:02. Cameron Davis came through in 12:05, as did Darian Martz. Cory Yarrington rounded out the top 20 in 12:06.

Coming onto the track, Drew Woodford was all alone. He had made a major move and John Mundey was unable to respond. Woodford sped home for the 16 second win in 17:09. John Mundey easily held onto 2nd in 17:25. Derrick Chaffin held solid control on 3rd in 17:36. Matt Knowlton moved up to 4th with a solid last mile and strong kick, getting past Jordan Weitzel as both crossed in 17:45. Riley Freeman outkicked David Rhodes for 6th, both getting in under 17:50. Chris Toompas used a final surge to get past Daniel Clevenger for 8th. They ran 17:57 and 17:58, respectively. Jake Wise easily scored the final All-State position in 18:02. No one else was closer than 13 seconds behind. Austin Chambers moved into 11th place with John Perry in 12th. Will Shaffer used a big kick to move past two people in the final 50 meters to score a 13th. Forrest Reed outkick Chase Nelson for 14th. Charles Anderson won the kick to the finish with Cameron Davis for 16th. Grafton's Zach Tennant moved up in the last mile to claim 18th. Mitch Waggoner used a late kick to get past Tanner Mattie for 19th. Mattie rounded out the top 20.

In looking for the MVP for the A-AA Boys Race, I had to consider Grafton, but they won by so much that no one's performance was the deciding factor. That left me to look at the runners from Scott. They had been picked to finish 6th (though just 11 points off 3rd) and came through with a 3rd place finish (though just 5 points off 2nd). They received strong performances from nearly all their runners. I have to give mention to Will Shaffer who moved from a predicted finish of 21st to an actual finish of 13th. A nice move indeed, but it was responsible for only 3 team points. I also have to give mention to Jackson Dolin who moved up 16 spots from a predicted finish of 65th to an actual finish of 49th. But the MVP is going to go to the guy who moved up a similar amount and was higher up in the standings, moving from 55th to 40th and picked up 11 team points along the way. Without his performance, they fall to 5th. For that reason, the 2009 RunWV MVP is Marshall Tully.

So, how did RunWV do on the predictions? The top two finished as expected, though the gap was substantially larger. Scott made the nice move up three places at the expense of Richwood, Doddridge, and Magnolia who each dropped a spot. Williamstown finished as expected in 7th. Ravenswood and Shady Spring each moved up a spot at the expense of Oak Hill. Individually, 8 of the predicted top 10 did indeed earn All-State Honors. 14 of the predicted top 15 finished in the top 15, and 21 of the predicted top 25 finished in the top 25. The pair that moved onto the All-State Podium were Doddridge's Daniel Clevenger (picked 14th, got 9th) and Berkeley Springs' Jake Wise (picked 11th, got 10th). Those who moved into the top 25 were Westside's Cameron Davis (picked 35th, got 17th), Williamstown's Mitch Waggoner (picked 26th, got 19th), Richwood's Andrew Shaffer (picked 29th, got 21st), and Grafton's Matt Stadelman (picked 27th, got 23rd). The big mover for the day was Westside's Cameron Davis who rose 18 spots from a predicted finish of 35th to an actual finish of 17th.

I offer my congratulations to the Grafton boys. It took most of the season but you rose to the top of the rankings just in time to be installed as the meet favorite. Your regional performance served notice and your State Meet performance closed the deal. You ended as the dominant A-AA team.

I offer my congratulations to Drew Woodford. Mundey had beaten you at every opportunity this season, but you came in with a goal and more importantly a strategy. You executed your strategy to perfection and as a result, you met your goal with ease. You earned this championship with an excellent race.

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.