The opening race of the day was the Class AAA Girls. The weather was chilly, but the air was calm. Excellent racing weather. The team race was expected to come down to University and Hurricane with Morgantown having a shot. Hurricane ended up running without their # 2, Jenna Crouch, which by my projections would have made it University's race to lose as a 20 point favorit with Hurricane and Morgantown really battling for 2nd. University held up their end of the bargain, taking the win by 19 points. Morgantown easily outdistanced Hurricane for 2nd by 22 points. Individually, Abby Colbert pulled away starting shortly before the mile mark and pretty much continuously extended her lead with every stride from there to the finish, taking the win by 47 seconds.

The first checkpoint is the top of the hill, which is about 0.7 miles into the race. The race went out hard, and at this point, it was Jefferson's Abby Colbert with just a slight edge over Parkersburg's Olivia Collett with both passing at 4:14. Those two had a large gap on the rest of the field. Hampshire's Hannah Lipps had a slight edge over University's TaShala Turner for 3rd with both coming through at 4:26. Hurricane's Anna Gordon was in 5th at 4:27. Parkersburg South's Abby Herring was in 6th at 4:28. Hedgesville's Jessie Hogbin was in 7th at 4:29. That time was matched by Lewis County's Emily Louk in 8th. Elkins' Olivia Underwood was in 9th at 4:30. Morgantown's Skylar Brooks had a slight edge over University's Sarah Wills for the 10th spot at 4:31. There was a pack of three passing at 4:35 with Morgantown's Samantha Hatcher quickly followed by Preston's Lindsay Scheffel and University's Mikaela Mitchell. Winfield's Rachel Englund was in 15th at 4:36. Cabell Midland's Jessica Salmons was in 16th at 4:37. Morgantown's Avigail Radabaugh was in 17th at 4:38, followed by teammate Myah McAlister at 4:39. Cabell Midland's Gretchen Mills was in 19th at 4:40 with that time matched by Hurricane's Kate Halkias.

At the mile mark, Abby Colbert had started to assert herself, coming through at 5:51. She had established at 5 second lead over Olivia Collett who came through at 5:56. Hannah Lipps still had a slight edge over TaShala Turner for 3rd with each crossing at 6:07. Abby Herring had moved into 5th at 6:10, just ahead of Anna Gordon, who matched that time. Skylar Brooks had moved up to 7th at 6:11. Emily Louk was in 8th with the same time. Jessie Hogbin held a slight advantage over Sarah Wills for 9th with both crossing at 6:12. These 10 had started to gap the rest of the field. Olivia Underwood was in 11th at 6:15. Lindsay Scheffel was in 12th at 6:18. Mikaela Mitchell was in 13th at 6:21. Samantha Hatcher was running in 14th at 6:23. Rachel Englund was in 15th at 6:24. Jessica Salmons and Avigail Radabugh both came through at 6:26 with Salmons having the slight lead for 16th. Kate Halkias was in 18th at 6:27. Myah McAlister was in 19th at 6:28. Parkersburg South's Allison Currey had moved into 20th at 6:30.

The next checkpoint was at the WVU Extension service building at approximately 1.4 miles. This is the highest point on the course. Abby Colbert had taken complete control of the race, extending her lead from 5 seconds to 18 seconds in less than half a mile. She came through at 8:34. Olivia Collett remained in 2nd at 8:52, but her gap over the next group had diminished significantly. Hannah Lipps remained slightly ahead of TaShala Turner for 3rd with Lipps passing at 8:56 and Turner at 8:57. Sarah Wills had made a major move up to 5th at 8:59. Abby Herring was in 6th at 9:00. Emily Louk was in 7th at 9:04. Anna Gordon was running 8th at 9:05. Skylar Brooks was in 9th at 9:06. Jessie Hogbin continued to run in 10th at 9:10. The gap back to 11th had increased with Lindsay Scheffel now in 11th at 9:18. Olivia Underwood was in 12th at 9:19. Mikaela Mitchell was in 13th at 9:20. Rachel Englund was at the front of a three-pack that passed at 9:22. She was followed closely by Samantha Hatcher and Jessica Salmons. Kate Halkias had a slight edge over Avigail Radabaugh for 17th with both at 9:26. Morgantown's Amber Dombrowski had moved into 19th at 9:29. Hurricane's Abbie Short had moved into 20th at 9:30.

At my bonus footage area at around 1.85 miles, Abby Colbert's gap contintued to grow, passing at 11:14, a 26 second lead. Hannah Lipps had moved into 2nd at 11:40 with TaShala Turner now into 3rd at 11:41. Olivia Collett remained in contention at 11:42 in 4th. Sarah Wills was next through at 11:44. I had to move on to the 2 mile mark at this point, but I know that Abby Herring and Skylar Brooks were the next through.

At the two mile mark, I didn't quite get there in time to catch Abby Colbert. It looks like she was at about 11:58 or 11:59. The lead had growth to 30 seconds. Just before the line TaShala Turner slipped past Hannah Lipps into 2nd with both at 12:29. Olivia Collett remained close at 12:31. Sarah Wills was right on her heels at 12:32. Abby Herring was in 6th at 12:39. Skylar Brooks was in 7th at 12:41. Emily Louk was next through in 8th at 12:43. Anna Gordon was in 9th at 12:47. Jessie Hogbin continued to round out the top 10 at 12:56. Lindsay Scheffel was next at 13:04. Jessica Salmons had moved up to 12th at 13:09, just ahead of Mikaela Mitchell and Olivia Underwood who matched that time. Kate Halkias was up to 15th in 13:10. Samantha Hatcher was in 16th at 13:12. Rachel Englund was holding 17th at 13:14. Abbie Short was up to 18th in 13:15. Avigail Radabaugh was in 19th at 13:16. University's Madeline Wright had moved into 20th at 13:20.

Coming onto the track, it was all Abby Colbert. She covered the last 1.1 miles in about 6:05, a 5:31 pace, to finish in 18:04. TaShala Turner took control of the 2nd spot, pulling away from Hannah Lipps over the final mile. Turner crossed in 18:51. Hanna Lipps held off the late charge of Abby Herring for 3rd with Lipps getting an 18:57 and Herring an 18:58. Sarah Wills was just over a second back at 19:00. Skylar Brooks took the 6th spot at 19:06. Anna Gordon made the climb to 7th at 19:10. Emily Louk completed her strong run in 8th at 19:14. Olivia Collett held onto 9th at 19:16. Jessie Hogbin rounded out the podium finishers with a 19:29. Lindsay Scheffel took the 11th position with a 19:40. Kate Halkias climbed up to 12th and Abbie Short climbed to 13th with a 19:47 and 19:48, respectively. Madeline Wright continued her march up the field to finish in 14th at 19:49. Jessica Salmons was 15th in 19:51. Mikaela Mitchell held 16th at 19:52. Amber Dombrowski moved back up the field to finish 17th in 19:55. Olivia Underwood was the last one in under 20:00 in 18th with a 19:59. Morgantown's Hannah Pineault moved into 19th over the last mile and finishe din 20:02. Samantha Hatcher completed the top 20 with a 20:03.

The MVP choice is difficult. In the top 3 spots, there really isn't one person that made the difference. University won by 19. One person didn't make 19 points of difference. Morgantown beat Hurricane by 22. One person didn't do that either. 4 and 5 finished at expected positions. There was someone there that made the difference, so I have to consider that. I also have to look at Woodrow Wilson, who rose from a predicted 10th to a 7th place finish, and there was certainly a prime factor in that move as well. Jefferson moved from a projected 8th to a 6th place finish, but there wasn't a single factor that created that move either. Ultimately, I'm going with the big climb from 10th to 7th. You don't get any big trophies for that move, but it does set a nice tone for next year. That being said, Woodrow Wilson, as mentioned, moved from a predicted 10th to an actual 7th, only three points ahead of 9th. There were actually multiple people who could account for this, but I'm going to go with the one who moved the most. I had this runner picked 73rd and scoring 60 team points as her team's # 5 runner. She responded by finishing in 48th with just 39 team points as her team's # 2 runner. That gained 21 points for her team and was instrumental in their rise. The 2015 RunWV MVP Award goes to Woodrow Wilson's Toni Prout.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Well...it started out pretty good and then went downhill from there. I did get the team champion as University came through with yet another stellar State Meet performance. Morgantown leapt past Hurricane with a strong overall effort. Jefferson and Woodrow Wilson did some moviing up. I also got the Individual champion correct, but I'd wager just about everyone called that one. I did get 9 of the top 10. But that's where things really went south. Only 10 of my predicted top 15 finished in the top 15, and only 18 of the predicted top 25 finished in the top 25. On average, runners finished within 7.7 places of their predicted finish. The lone runner who stepped up onto the podium was Lewis County's Emily Louk (picked 18th, got 8th). Those who moved up into the top 25 were University's Madeline Wright (picked 32nd, got 14th), Cabell Midland's Jessica Salmons (picked 27th, got 15th), Morgantown's Amber Dombrowski (picked 37th, got 17th), Morgantown's Hannah Pineault (picked 28th, got 19th), University's Brooke Franklin (picked 26th, got 23rd), Morgantown's Myah McAlister (picked 34th, got 24th), and Woodrow Wilson's Maddy Childs (picked 35th, got 25th). Obviously, I should have looked at last year's list because Wright, Dombrowski, and McAlister got me last year as well. The big mover of the day was our MVP, Woodrow Wilson's Toni Prout who climbed 25 places from a projected 73rd place finish to an actual 48th place finish. From a team standpoint, Woodrow Wilson had the best day, scoring 52 points fewer than predicted.

I offer my congratulations to the University girls. You came through with another stellar team performance. You continually bring your A game when it really matters. You put 4 in the top 16 and once again 5 inside the top 25. There is always a target on your back...and you wear it well.

I offer my congratulations to Abby Colbert. Another State Meet, and another big performance. 18:04 running over 2/3 of the race as a solo effort is impressive.

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.