The opening race of the day was the Class AAA Girls. This was expected to be a very tight battle between University and Morgantown, but the close battle turned into a very convincing victory for the ladies from Morgantown. Individually, Morgantown's Victoria Cooke took control of the race early and never looked back in taking the 7 second win.

The first checkpoint is the top of the hill, which is about 0.7 miles into the race. At this point, Morgantown's Victoria Cooke was in the front coming through in 4:26. University's Amelia Paladino came through in 2nd place in 4:29 with teammate Abbey Harrison right behind in 4:30. Next through were Preston's Kaitlyn Workman in 4:33 and Fairmont Senior's Alyssa Scherich in 4:35. Hampshire's Rachel Lipps was running in 6th coming through in 4:37. There was a pack that came through next with Cabell Midland's Jorden Thornton in front, followed by Musselman's Heather Jenkins, Hurricane's Tori Dent, and Capital's Peyton Panger. That group came through in 4:39 and completed the top 10 in the early stages. Parkersburg's Kaylee Williams was the next one through in 4:40. She was follwed by Morgantown's Brynn Harshbarger, North Marion's Emma Harrison, Bridgeport's Morganne Phillips, and Morgantown's Allison Lynch in 12th through 15th places, respectively. That group crossed in 4:41. They were followed by Morgantown's Sydney Pineault and the Preston pair of Racheal Hulett and Whitney Workman in 16th through 18th places, respectively. They came through in 4:42. University's Emily Lynch was in 19th place in 4:45. Hedgesville's Brittany Pollard rounded out the top 20 at the top of the hill, coming through in 4:47.

At the mile mark, Victoria Cooke had extended her lead. She crossed in 6:03, bringing her lead to 8 seconds over Amelia Paladino, who crossed in 6:11. Abbey Harrison remained in 3rd place in 6:14 with Kaitlyn Workman right behind in 6:16. Rachel Lipps was in 5th with Alyssa Scherich right behind. The pair crossed in 6:17 and 6:18, respectively. Cabell Midland's Jorden Thornten had a slight edge for 7th with Brynn Harshbarger and Tori Dent following less than a stride behind in 8th and 9th, respectively . That group crossed in 6:23. Peyton Panger had moved into 10th with Sydney Pineault and Allison Lynch on her heels in 11th and 12th, respectively. That group crossed in 6:26. Kaylee Williams was right behind in 13th, crossing in 6:27. Heather Jenkins was running in 14th also in 6:27. Emma Harrison was in 15th coming through in 6:28. Racheal Hulett was in 16th followed by Morganne Phillips in 17th as both crossed in 6:29. Whitnehy Workman was close behind in 18th in 6:30. Emily Lynch was in 19th in 6:33. University's Katelyn Wheeler rounded out the top 20 at the mile mark, coing through in 6:34.

The next checkpoint was at the WVU Extension service building at approximately 1.4 miles. Victoria Cooke had stretched her lead to 10 seconds. She came through in 8:43 with Amelia Paladino in 2nd in 8:53. Abbey Harrison remained in 3rd with Kaitlyn Workman holding 4th just a step behind. They came through in 9:00 and 9:01, respectively. Alyssa Scherich remained in 5th in 9:08. Brynn Harshbarger was in the front of a small pack racing for 6th. She came through in 9:11. Allison Lynch, Rachel Lipps, and Sydney Pineault crossed in 9:12, running in 7th through 9th, respectively. Peyton Panger matched their 9:12 while crossing in 10th. Tori Dent was in 11th in 9:13 with Kaylee Williams in 12th in 9:14. Jorden Thornten was in 13th, coming through in 9:15. Heather Jenkins was at the front of a small pack racing for 14th. Whitney Workman was in 15th and Emma Harrison was in 16th. The group came through in 9:21. Morganne Phillips was in 17th, coming through in 9:22. Racheal Hulett was in 18th at 9:23. Emily Lynch was holding 19th place in 9:27. She was followed by Katelyn Wheeler in 9:29.

At the two mile mark, Victoria Cooke had taken her lead to 13 seconds. She crossed at approximatley 12:25. Amelia Paladino remained in 2nd, crossing in 12:38. Abbey Harrison was still running in 3rd in 12:44. Kaitlyn Workman still held 4th in 12:47. Sydney Pineault had made a major move to move into 5th at 12:49. There was still a big battle brewing for 6th. In front at the two mile mark was Brynn Harshbarger, who crossed at 12:56. She was trailed closely by Rachel Lipps and Alyssa Scherich in 7th and 8th, respectively in 12:57. Crossing in 12:58 in 9th was Peyton Panger. Tori Dent was in 10th at 13:00. Jorden Thornten was in 11th in 13:03. That time was matched by Allison Lynch who was running in 12th. Kaylee Williams was in 13th just one second behind in 13:04. That group had pulled substantially away from the remaining field. There was a 13 second gap back to 14th place. Emma Harrison had the 14th spot, crossing in 13:17. Whitney Workman was in 15th with the same time. A trio came through in 13:20 with Racheal Hulett in 16th, Heather Jenkins in 17th, and Morganne Phillips in 18th. Katelyn Wheeler was in 19th at 13:23. Emily Lynch rounded out the top 20 in 13:25.

Coming onto the track, it was Victoria Cooke continuing her dominant run. She led just about the entire race. She crossed the line in 19:02. Sydney Pineault continued her big move that started at about 1.5 miles to climb all the way up to 2nd place. She crossed in 19:09 giving Morgantown a big 1-2 finish. Amelia Paladino held onto the 3rd spot in 19:15 with Abbey Harrison taking 4th in 19:22, giving University the 3-4 spots. Kaitlyn Workman claimed the 5th position in 19:24. Alyssa Scherich held off the late charge of Tori Dent for 6th place as both finished in 19:31. Brynn Harshbarger held the 8th spot in 19:33. Kaylee Williams used a strong last mile to move into a podium spot with her 9th place finish in 19:35. Peyton Panger used a late kick to take the last All-State position in the last few meters and by just 0.7 seconds finishing in 19:36. Rachel Lipps claimed the 11th spot in 19:37. Allison Lynch held the 12th spot in 19:45. Jorden Thornton easily held the 13th position in 19:55. Whitney Workman claimed 14th with a 20:12. Emma Harrison held off Racheal Hulett for 15th as they ran 20:14 and 20:15, respectively. Morganne Phillips finished 17th with a 20:20. University took the next three spots with Katelyn Wheeling taking 18th, Emily Lynch 19th, and Deborah Martinelli moving up to 20th in the last mile. The trio ran 20:21, 20:23, and 20:23, respectively.

The MVP for this year is hard to call. You have to look at Morgantown with their big win. The only team that finished significantly higher than predicted was Cabell Midland, so you have to look there as well. The problem is that on either team, no single person was the difference maker. With Morgantown, you had four girls that finished one to three team places above projection. With Cabell Midland, you had four girls that finished eight to ten team places above projection. If I were to go with Cabell Midland, I'd likely go with Kelsey Dillon using the logic that the other Midland girls behind her were somewhat keying off her. However, I've decided to go with Morgantown. My choice for MVP only moved up three places from her projected finish and only gained two team points in the process. However, by getting in front of a group of University runners right from the gun and staying there, she performed an important job for her team. For this reason, the 2011 RunWV MVP for the State Meet is Allison Lynch.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Statistically, Morgantown was the better team coming in, but University had burned me too many times so I gave them the benefit of the doubt in a number of places...and Morgantown made me pay for it. Cabell Midland moved up from a predicted 8th to 5th, everyone else stayed in order. Individually, 8 of the predicted top 10 finished in the top 10. Only 11 of the top 15 finished in the top 15, but 23 of the predicted top 25 did finish in the top 25. Those who made the move into the All-State Lineup were Parkersburg's Kaylee Williams (picked 19th, got 9th) and Capital's Peyton Panger (picked 17th, got 10th). Those who moved into the top 25 were Hurricane's Baylee Summers (picked 26th, got 22nd) and Hurricane's Allyson Lawhon (picked 40th, got 23rd). The big movers of the day were a pair that climbed 19 places. Hedgesville's Anna Lizon climbed from a predicted place of 63rd to an actual finish of 44th. Hampshire's Ashleigh Martin climbed from a predicted place of 67th to an actual finish of 48th. From a team standpoint, Cabell Midland had the best day, scoring 39 fewer points than predicted.

I offer my congratulations to the Morgantown girls. You took over the top spot late in the season, and you certainly proved you deserved it on Saturday. Your entire team performed well when it was needed. No one fell off the pace. It was a strong and convincing victory.

I offer my congratulations to Victoria Cooke. You ran a wonderful race. You took control early and never backed off. It was a gutsy performance and very worth of the title of State Champion.

I offer my congratulations to the girls who shook up the predictions. You prove what I try to tell people every year. Rankings and predictions do not determine the finish. You determine the finish.