The A-AA Girls closed the morning session. The temperature had started to climb, but it was still a brisk 39 degrees. As expected, Philip Barbour ran to an easy victory, taking the title by a whopping 58 points over Shady Spring. Shady Spring won a very tight battle for the 2nd spot on the podium, taking the spot by just 2 points over Scott and Weir, and with 3 other teams within 15 points. The expected individual battle between Philip Barbour's Sarah McCauley and Charleston Catholic's Sami Harris lasted about two miles. Shortly before the two mile mark, McCauley put on an impressive surge and continued to push for the remainder of the race to stretch the final margin of victory to 28 seconds, setting an A-AA Course record and recording the 3rd best time overall time on the course. Harris easily held on for 2nd. St. Marys' Maggie Drazba and Frankfort's Katie Jan also ran under 20:00 in taking 3rd and 4th, respectively.

My first checkpoint was again the top of the hill at approximately 0.7 miles. The foursome of Charleston Catholic's Sami Harris, Philip Barbour's Sarah McCauley, Frankfort's Katie Jan, and St. Marys' Maggie Drazba had moved to the front, coming through in 4:35-4:36. Weir's Alexis Virtue was running in 5th with Doddridge's Bethany Carroll and Weir's Kristen Mastrantoni in 6th and 7th, respectively with each coming through in 4:39. Herbert Hoover's Erica Walker was in 8th in 4:42. Berkeley Springs' Macy Houck was in 9th in 4:43. Philip Barbour's Brianna Waybright rounded out the top 10 at the top of the hill, coming through in 4:44. Weir's Tricia Marker was in 11th in 4:50 with Shady Spring's Sarah Phillips right behind in 12th. PikeView's Chelsea East came through in 13th in 4:52. St. Marys' Beverly Knight was in 14th in 4:55. Philip Barbour's Katie Mahoney, Point Pleasant's Andrea Porter, and Oak Glen's Kelsey Chambers came through together in 4:57. Ravenswood's Emily Rector was in 18th in 5:00. Keyser's Hannah Biser was in 19th in 5:01. Richwood's Breanna Mazella rounded out the top 20 in 5:02.

At the mile mark, Sami Harris and Sarah McCauley had started to pull away with Harris slightly in front, crossing in 6:14. Maggie Drazba crossed at 6:19 with Katie Jan crossing in 6:22. Those four had pulled significantly away from the remainder of the field. Alexis Virtue, Kristen Mastrantoni, and Erica Walker crossed together in 6:33 with Bethany Carroll right behind in 6:34. Brianna Waybright had moved up to 9th, crossing the mark in 6:36. Macy Houck was running in 10th in 6:42. Sarah Phillips held a slight lead over Chelsea East with both crossing in 6:43. Tricia Marker was running in 13th, crossing in 6:48. Katie Mahoney was in 14th, just ahead of Kelsey Chambers and Emily Rector with each crossing in 6:52. Beverly Knight was running in 17th, trailed closely by Breanna Mazella and Andrea Porter with each crossing in 6:55. Scott's Lexi Griffith had moved up to 20th in 6:56.

At the top of the hill near the Extension Service building at approximately 1.4 miles, it remained Sami Harris and Sarah McCauley, passing in 8:48. Maggie Drazba had solidified her 3rd position, crossing in 9:00. Katie Jan was easily holding the 4th spot in 9:05. Alexis Virtue and Brianna Waybright were running 5th and 6th with each crossing in 9:20. Kristen Mastrantoni was in 7th in 9:21. Erica Walker and Bethany Carroll were running in 8th and 9th with both crossing in 9:22. Sarah Phillips held a slight edge over Chelsea East for the 10th spot with each crossing in 9:36. Macy Houck and Katie Mahoney crossed in 9:43 in 12th and 13th. Tricia Marker, Kelsey Chambers, and Lexi Griffith crossed in 9:44 in holding positions 14 through 16. Emily Rector was running in 17th in 9:47. Andrea Porter was in 18th with Webster's Allison Clevenger running in 19th coming through in 9:52 and 9:53, respectively. Scott's Amanda Powers was narrowly holding the 20th spot, coming through in 9:56.

At the two mile mark, Sarah McCauley had started her move. She crossed in 12:16 and had opened a 4 second lead over Sami Harris who crossed in 12:20. Maggie Drazba was holding the 3rd position, crossing in 12:47. Katie Jan was easily holding the 4th spot, crossing in 12:55. Brianna Waybright crossed in 5th at 13:12. Alexis Virtue was in 6th in 13:13. Erica Walker was in 7th in 13:14. Kristen Mastrantoni was in 8th in 13:19. Bethany Carroll was in 9th in 13:22. Sarah Phillips was in 10th at 13:34 with Chelsea East right behind in 13:35. Katie Mahoney was in 12th in 13:38. Lexi Griffith was up to 13th in 13:42. Kelsey Chambers was in 14th in 13:44. Tricia Marker was in 15th in 13:49. Macy Houck and Emily Rector crossed together in 13:54. Allison Clevenger was in 18th in 13:57. Amanda Powers was in 19th with Charleston Catholic's Ally Hoyer in 20th with both crossing in 14:02.

At the finish, Sarah McCauley had powered away from the field coming onto the track all alone and burying the competition in the final mile for a 28 second victory. Her 18:33 is the 3rd fastest performance on this course. Sami Harris easily held onto the 2nd place spot with her 19:01 time. Maggie Drazba held her lead over Katie Jan as they both ran under 20:00 with their 19:44 and 19:50, respectively. Brianna Waybright pulled away for the 5th position in 20:16. Alexis Virtue held off the final kick of Erica Walker to take 6th as both finished in 20:20. Chelsea East finished strong to move up to 8th in 20:34. Bethany Carroll held on for 9th in 20:41. Sarah Phillips used a strong finish to take the final All-State spot over Weir's Kristen Mastrantoni, 20:49 to 20:53. Kelsey Chambers used a late kick to get past Katie Mahoney for 12th as both crossed in 20:59. Lexi Griffith easily took the 14th spot with a 21:04. Tricia Marker used a strong final stretch to pull away from Allison Clevenger for 15th with Marker scoring a 21:13 and Clevenger a 21:17. Macy Houck held on for 17th in 21:24. Shady Spring's Nicole Hegele used a strong last mile and a strong kick to move into 18th position in 21:28, just ahead of Amanda Powers and Emily Rector who each scored a 21:29 to round out the top 20.

In searching for the MVP, I have to look at who was instrumental in helping her team take a spot or perhaps someone who's performance was necessary to preserve a spot. Philip Barbour won by so much that there wasn't really a critical performance, provided that I don't include the fact that Katie Mahoney was running period. Prior to her return at the Regional Meet, it was looking like Scott might be the team to beat. No team moved up more than one spot from their predicted finish, which makes things less obvious. One of those teams had two girls move up significantly from their predicted finishes. They picked up 21 team points in the process. If they don't run the races they run, their team drops five spots. One of those performers climbed from a predicted finish of 36th to 18th and the other climbed from a predicted finish of 40th to 21st. These performances were instrumental in getting their team to the podium. The 2010 RunWV co-MVP's are Nicole Hegele and Taylor Jackson of Shady Spring.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Philip Barbour won as expected, though with slightly more ease than was anticipated. No one moved up more than one spot. Shady Spring, St. Marys, and Berkeley Springs each moved up one position, while Oak Glen fell two spots and Scott fell one spot. Individually, 9 of the predicted top 10 did indeed finish in the top 10. 12 of the predicted top 15 finished in the top 15. However, only a paltry 17 of the predicted top 25 finished in the top 25. The girl who stepped up to take the unexpected All-State Position was Shady Spring's Sarah Phillips (picked 11th, got 10th). Those who moved into the top 25 were Philip Barbour's Katie Mahoney (picked 28th, got 13th), Webster's Allison Clevenger (picked 42nd, got 16th), Shady Spring's Nicole Hegele (picked 36th, got 18th), Scott's Amanda Powers (picked 34th, got 19th), Shady Spring's Taylor Jackson (picked 40th, got 21st), Philip Barbour's Amber Abott (picked 30th, got 22nd), Berkeley Springs' Sarah Younker (picked 32nd, got 24th), and Williamstown's Heather Gray (picked 26th, got 25th). The big mover of the day was Webster's Allison Clevenger who moved up a whopping 26 spots from a predicted finish of 42nd to an actual finish of 16th. From a team standpoint, the team that outperformed their prediction by the most was Oak Hill who scored 25 fewer points than was predicted.

I offer my congratulations to the Philip Barbour girls. You dominated the meet from the start and left no doubt about who the best team in the State was for 2010. You performed exceptionally well at the right time and most definitely earned this championship.

I offer my congratulations to Sarah McCauley. The move you made over the last mile was truly impressive. Your dedication to this sport while also playing another paid off in a big way. You were far and away the strongest one in the field today. I loved seeing the smile as you crossed the finish line. I don't think I have to tell you to enjoy this championship.

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.