The A-AA Girls opened the afternoon session. The slight chill from the morning session had given way to nearly ideal conditions, barring a bit of wind picking up. The team race shook out pretty close as was expected with the Fairmont Senior taking the Class AA title and Williamstown taking the Class A title, but with the two swapping positions overall. Winfield without both Kalei Jordan and Baylee Adkins couldn't quite hang to make it truly interesting. Individually, the expected three-way battle held true for over two miles before it dropped to a two person race, but in the end, it was East Fairmont's Erykah Christopher who was able to pull away late for the 7 second win.

My first checkpoint was again the top of the hill at approximately 0.7 miles. PikeView's Erin O'Sullivan held a slight lead at the top with East Fairmont's Erykah Christopher and Williamstown's Ella Hesson trailing her closely with each passing in 4:27. Winfield's Rachel Withrow was solidly in 4th at 4:30. Charleston Catholic's Aubrie Custer was in the 5th spot in 4:35 with Bridgeport's Emerson Grafton right behind her in 6th at 4:36. Fairmont Senior's Lydia Falkenstein was in 7th at 4:38 with teammate Carlina Jacquez close behind her in 9th at 4:39. Winfield's Mariam Al-Zoubi was in the 9th spot at 4:32. East Fairmont's Courtney Eddy was in 10th at 4:44 with Fairmont Senior's Mackenzie Stanley matching that time in 11th. Winfield's Ella Wikel was in 12th at 4:47. Fairmont Senior's Sophia Tomana was in 13th at 4:49 with that time being matched by Wayne's Emily Williamson in 14th. Winfield's Sarah Lipscomb was in 15th at 4:50 with teammate Alanna Roberts and Grafton's Avrie Kelley matching that time in 16th and 17th, respectively. Notre Dame's Erin Frosch was in 18th at 4:51 with Williamstown's Chloe Lightfritz matching that time in 19th. Williamstown's Natalie Sawin was in the 20th spot at 4:53.

At the mile mark, Erykah Christopher had pulled into a slight lead, trailed by Erin O'Sullivan and Ella Hesson with all coming through in 6:11. Rachel Withrow remained in 4th at 6:14. Lydia Falkenstein had climbed into 5th at 6:20 with Carlina Jacquez in 6th with the same time. Aubrie Custer had a slight lead over Emerson Grafton for 7th with both at 6:21. That group of 8 had established a strong gap over the rest of the field. Courtney Eddy was in 9th in 6:29 with Mackenzie Stanley in 10th with the same time. Miriam Al-Zoubi was in 11th at 6:36. Sophia Tomana was in 12th at 6:40 with Chloe Lightfritz moving well up the field into 13th in the same time. Natalie Sawin had also moved up several spots into 14th at 6:43. Alanna Roberts lead a tight group through in 15th at 6:44 with that time being matched by Ella Wikel in 16th, Tucker's Kate Falls in 17th, and Grafton's Avrie Kelley in 18th. Right on their heels were Emily Williamson in 19th and Sarah Lipscomb in 20th, both at 6:45.

At the top of the hill near the Extension Service building, the highest point on the course at approximately 1.4 miles, I missed the front three coming through, but I think it was Erykah Christopher followed by Ella Hesson and then Erin O'Sullivan. I didn't get times. Rachel Withrow remained in 4th at 9:14. Lydia Falkenstein still held the 5th spot at 9:20 with Carlina Jacquez still in 6th at 9:21. Also at 9:21 in 7th was Aubrie Custer. Emerson Grafton was in 8th at 9:22. Mackenzie Stanley had taken control of the 9th spot in 9:30. Courtney Eddy was in firm control of 10th at 9:35. Chloe Lightfritz had moved up to 11th in 9:46 with Miriam Al-Zoubi matching that time in 12th. Natalie Sawin moved up a spot into 13th in 9:51. Berkeley Springs' Belle Harvey had made a nice move into 14th in 9:52 with Sophia Tomana matching that time in 15th. Frankfort's Chaysie Barnes had also made a nice move to climb into 16th and also came through in 9:52. Doddridge's Emily Gola had also moved into the top 20 at 17th and in 9:53. Alanna Roberts was in 18th at 9:54 with that time being matched by Elkins' Allison Berdine in 19th. Avrie Kelley held the 20th spot in 9:55.

I got a little bonus footage at about 1.85 miles. Some daylight was starting to show between the top 3, but not much. Erykah Christopher was in the lead at 11:44 with Ella Hesson in 2nd at 11:45 and Erin O'Sullivan in 3rd at 11:46. Lydia Falkenstein had moved into the 4th spot at 12:07 with Rachel Withrow in 5th at 12:09. Carlina Jacquez continued to hold the 6th spot with Aubrie Custer still in the 7th spot, Emerson Grafton still in the 8th, and Mackenzie Stanley still in the 9th.

At the two mile mark, Erykah Christopher had stretched her lead a bit, coming through at 12:34. Ella Hesson remained in 2nd at 12:36, just ahead of Erin O'Sullivan in 3rd at 12:37. Lydia Falkenstein had gained further control over the 4th position at 12:59. Rachel Withrow continued to hold the 5th spot in 13:03. Carlina Jacquez still held the 6th spot in 13:09. Aubrie Custer was in 7th in 13:13 with Emerson Grafton still close behind in 13:15. Mackenzie Stanley was now firmly in control of the 9th spot in 13:23. Courtney Eddy remained firmly in the 10th spot in 13:37. Chloe Lightfritz was still in 11th in 13:44 but starting to close. Also closing, and up to 12th in 13:48 was Emily Gola. Belle Harvey was right on her heels in 13:49. Natalie Sawin was in 14th at 13:51. Miriam Al-Zoubi had a slight lead over Allison Berdine for 15th with both at 13:52. Sophia Tomana was in 17th in 13:55. Chaysie Barnes was close behind in 18th in 13:56 with Alanna Roberts and Avrie Kelley matching that time in 19th and 20th, respectively.

Coming onto the track, Erykah Christopher had taken control of the race, and she powered away to a fine 18:53 finish. Ella Hesson easily pulled away into the 2nd spot in 19:00 as her battle with Christopher over the final mile distanced them from 3rd. Erin O'Sullivan was not threatened for the 3rd spot and took it in 19:26. Lydia Falkenstein continued to pull away from the rest of the field for the 4th spot, taking it in 19:39. Carlina Jacquez moved into the 5th spot over the final mile and was the last one in under 20:00 at 19:54. Rachel Withrow held the 6th position in 20:04. Aubrie Custer gained full control of the 7th spot in 20:08. Emerson Grafton easily held onto the 8th spot in 20:19. Mackenzie Stanley kept the 9th spot in 20:25. Chloe Lightfritz closed really well to pull into and away with the final podium spot in 20:30. Coming from way back all the way up to 11th in 20:44 was Emily Williamson. She was in 27th at the two mile mark. What a closing mile for her. From the 2 mile to the finish, she was the 3rd fastest in the field. Emily Gola took the 12th spot in 20:46 with Frankfort's Chaysie Barnes in right behind her in 13th in 20:47. Natalie Sawin held the 14th position in 20:51. Sophia Tomana won a close fight for 15th with a 20:55. Courtney Eddy held onto the 16th spot in 20:56. Belle Harvey claimed the 17th spot in 20:57 with Miriam Al-Zoubi in 18th, also in 20:57. Addison Berdine took the 19th position in 21:00. Avrie Kelley kept the 20th position in 21:05.

In searching for the MVP, I didn't have to look too far this time. It's a wonderful thing to win your division, but everyone wants to win the overall title as well, and Fairmont Senior pulled it off. They ran pretty well from top to bottom and got nice steps forward from both Lydia Falkenstein and Mackenzie Stanley, but it was the move from another runner that secured the win. She was predicted to finish 26th and record 23 team points. She moved up to 15th and recorded 14 team points. That's a 9 point team score improvement. If she finishes where predicted, the meet is a tie, and Williamstown takes the overall title on the tie-breaker. For that clutch performance that secured the championship for her team, Fairmont Senior's Sophia Tomana is the 2019 RunWV MVP.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? It was a mixed batch, but overall, not so good. I got the Class A and Class AA champions and runners-up, but missed the overall champion. Only 3 teams finished more than one spot different than what was predicted with East Fairmont moving up 3 spots. Individually, it starts off pretty well. I got 9 of the top 10 and 12 of the top 15, but then it fell apart. I only got 17 of the top 25, which may well be the worst I've done. On average, runners finished within 9.48 spots of their predicted place, which is quite a bit worse than last year. The runner who moved onto the podium was Fairmont Senior's Mackenzie Stanley (picked 13th, got 9th). Those who moved into the top 25 were Frankfort's Chaysie Barnes (picked 28th, got 13th), Fairmont Senior's Sophia Tomana (picked 26th, got 15th), East Fairmont's Courtney Eddy (picked 39th, got 16th), Grafton's Avrie Kelley (picked 36th, got 20th), Philip Barbour's Jay Cee Everson (picked 35th, got 22nd), Winfield's Alanna Roberts (picked 42nd, got 23rd), Bridgeport's Madison Looker (picked 46th, got 24th), and Charleston Catholic's Gabbie Custer (picked 34th, got 25th). The big movers of the day each moved up 25 spots. Charleston Catholic's Rachel Coffield (picked 62nd, got 37th) and Tyler Consolidated's Emily Ebert (picked 72nd, got 42nd) made those big moves. From a team standpoint, the biggest score improvement came from PikeView, who scored 57 fewer points than predicted to move up a couple spots in the team standings.

I offer my congratulations to the Fairmont Senior girls. You showed up to take care of business today and your certainly did so. The front four were exceptional and the fifth did her job. It was a tough fight with Williamstown for the overall title and you came through with flying colors.

I offer my congratulations to the Williamstown girls. As with last year, there wasn't much doubt about who would win the Class A title, which is a testament to how dominant you were all season long. With the front 7 all returning, it will be tough for anyone to join you at the front next season.

I offer my congratulations to Erykah Christopher. The title that eluded you your first two years is now yours. You finally ended a season in complete health, and it was impressive. It didn't take an off day by anyone for you to win this. You earned it, and you took it.

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 don't mean a thing. That's why we run the race.