The Class AAA Boys closed the day's festivities. Race conditions remained excellent for this final race of the day. University was expected to run away with the team race, and they did so. Morgantown gave a galant effort and was closer than expected, but it still wasn't close. Individually, Josh Edwards was expected to have an easy time of if, and he accommodated by blasting the field by 50 seconds.

I didn't get to stay for the Class AA and Class AAA races. I am creating my recap from the race coverage provided by www.wvvideoproductions.com. The races are on their Facebook page. I'd provide a link, but I haven't yet found the races on their actual website.

After an early glimpse saw University's Josh Edwards in the lead, followed closely by Hampshire's Chris Lucas, we move to the flat after the top of first hill at approximately 0.8 miles. Josh Edwards was still in the lead, coming through at 3:58. Chris Lucas was still in 2nd at 4:00. Those two had opened a gap on the field. University's Rocco DeVincent was in 3rd at 4:05 with that time matched by Franklin Angelos in 4th. Ripley's Chase Pepper was in 5th at 4:06. Parkersburg's Keegan Barnett was in 6th at 4:07. A small gap led back to the Cabell Midland pair of Sam LeRose and Cooper Gibson in 7th and 8th, respectively, with both at 4:09. Cabell Midland made it 3 in a row with Carter McKenna in 9th at 4:10. Spring Mills' Nate Schneider was in 10th at 4:11. University's Jordan Thomas was in 11th at 4:13. Morgantown's Quinn Jacquez was in 12th at 4:14. Preston's Lowell Cerbone was in 13th at 4:16. Jefferson's Kyle de Nobel was in 14th at 4:20. Wheeling Park's Max Morgan was in 15th at 4:21. Hurricane's Aaron Kidd was in the front of four that came through at 4:22 in 16th. Along with him were John Marshall's Mack Allen in 17th, Woodrow Wilson's Brandon Canaday in 18th, and Jefferson's Justin Gottlieb in 19th. In 20th was University's TaKaleb Turner at 4:23.

At the Mile Mark, the camera is further away, and I'm completely guessing at some of these. Josh Edwards was opening that gap in the lead, coming through at 4:58. Chris Lucas was still in firm control of 2nd at 5:06. Rocco DeVincent continued to battle Franklin Angelos for 3rd with both at 5:12. Chase Pepper had a slight edge over Keegan Barnette for 5th with both at 5:13. I think it was Cooper Gibson in 7th and Sam LeRose in 8th, both at 5:15. I think Jordan Thomas had moved up to 9th in 5:16. I have a lot of question marks at this point. I think it might have been Nate Schneider in 10th at 5:18 with Cabell Midland's Carter McKenna in 11th at the same time. I believe Quinn Jacquez was in 12th, Max Morgan in 13th, Lowell Cerbone in 14th, Kyle de Nobel in 15th, and Aaron Kidd in 16th. I gave up after that.

As they made the turn to go up the short, steep hill at the Exentsion Building, Josh Edwards had really opened his lead. I'm estimating about 7:07 for him. Chris Lucas was still in 2nd at 7:27, but Rocco DeVincent was starting to close on him, coming through at 7:31. Franklin Angelos remained in 4th at 7:33 with Keegan Barnette in 5th at 7:34. Chase Pepper was in 6th at 7:35 with that time matched by Quinn Jacquez in 7th. After that came 4 red guys...most likely Jordan Thomas and possibly the three Cabell Midland guys or Max Morgan. The only ones I have any confidence in identification at this point are Aaron Kidd in 14th at 7:45 and Morgantown's Jackson Snyder in 16th at 7:46. It was just too far away to really get a good enough look.

The next spot was at the 180 degree turn just prior to the two mile mark. Josh Edwards had extended his lead dramatically, rounding the turn at 9:54. Rocco DeVincent had moved into 2nd at 10:31 with Chris Lucas right on his heels at 10:32. Quinn Jacquez had moved up to 4th at 10:35. Franklin Angelos was in 5th at 10:36 with Jordan Thomas matching that time in 6th. Keegan Barnette was in 7th at 10:37. Sam LeRose was in 8th at 10:40. Chase Pepper was in 9th at 10:43. Aaron Kidd had made a nice move into 10th at 10:46. Kyle de Nobel had moved up to 11th at 10:47. Carter McKenna was in 12th at 10:48. Cooper Gibson was in 13th at 10:49 with that time matched by Jackson Snyder in 14th. Brandon Canaday was in 15th 10:52. Nate Schneider was in 16th in 10:54. University's Ryan Blohm had moved up to 17th at 10:58 with Max Morgan matching that time in 18th. TaKeleb Turner was in 19th at 10:59 with Morgantown's Landon Young moving into 20th with the same time.

The next checkpoint was at the corner of the starting field, leaving them with just over 1/2 mile to go. The footage didn't shift to this spot in time to catch Josh Edwards, who was obviously still extending his lead. Rocco DeVincent was still in the 2nd spot at 13:29 with Chris Lucas still right on his heels at 13:30. Quinn Jacquez was still in the mix in 4tha t 13:32. Jordan Thomas had moved into 5th at 13:38 with Franklin Angelos right behind in 6th at 13:39. Keegan Barnette remained in 7th at 13:43. Sam LeRose still held the 8th spot at 13:46. Aaron Kidd was up to 9th at 13:47. Chase Pepper was in 10th at 13:48. Jackson Snyder had moved up to 11th at 13:49. Carter McKenna was in 12th at 13:51. Cooper Gibson was in 13th at 13:57. Kyle de Nobel was in 14th at 13:59 with Max Morgan in 15th at 14:00. Brandon Canaday was in 16th at 14:03. I think it was Nate Schneider in 17th at 14:04 with that time matched by Landon Young in 18th. I believe it was Ryan Blohm in 19th at 14:06 and TaKaleb Turner in 20th at 14:10.

Coming onto the track, Josh Edwards was all alone, having continued to extend his lead, crossing the line at 15:25. Rocco DeVincent pulled away for the 2nd spot in 16:15. Chris Lucas held the 3rd position in 16:21. Quinn Jacquez kept the 4th spot in 16:24. Jordan Thomas maintained the 5th position in 16:33. Jackson Snyder who, like Lea Hatcher, was in just his 2nd race of the year, had a huge finish moving up from 11th to 6th in the last half mile to finish in 16:37. Franklin Angelos took the 7th spot in 16:38 with Keegan Barnette in 8th in 16:40. Chase Pepper held the 9th spot in 16:41, just edging past Aaron Kidd, who took the final podium position in 16:42. Sam LeRose was 11th in 16:46 with Carter McKenna 12th in 16:47. Max Morgan won a kick for 13th in 16:56, just nipping Landon Young, who finished 14th also in 16:56. Cooper Gibson was 15th in 16:57. Nate Schneider was 16th in 16:58. Brandon Canaday took the 17th spot in 17:02. Kyle de Nobel was 18th in 17:05. Ryan Blohm was 19th in 17:06. Wheeling Park's Jonah Nizami moved into the 20th spot in 17:12.

As in the Class AAA Girls race, selecting an MVP for this one is difficult as well. The top 4 all finished as expected. 5 and 6 swapped placed as did 7 and 8, and 10 and 12. Wow...I'm not seeing any particular thing that makes the difference in those upward moves. There are some strong runs in there, but nothing that makes a difference by itself. So...I'm going with a run the preserves a spot rather than one that creates one. The 4-5 spot was decided by a single point, and on a day that certainly not everything went right for Wheeling Park, someone had to take a step forward. Someone did. It wasn't a huge move, just 6 places and 4 team points, but timing matters as well, and this runner picked up 5 spots in the final 1.1 miles and 2 in the final 1/2 mile. For making an important move, and making it when it mattered, the 2020 RunWV MVP for Class AAA Boys is Wheeling Park's Max Morgan.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? It was a strong set. As mentioned, the top 4 teams finished as expected, and only 2 teams finished more than one spot off their predicted finish. Individually, I got 8 of the top 10, 12 of the top 15, and a very nice 23 of the top 25. On average, runners finished within 6.73 spots of their predicted finish. The runners who ascended to the podium were Morgantown's Jackson Snyder (picked 16th, got 6th), and Hurricane's Aaron Kidd (picked 11th, got 10th). Those who moved into the top 25 were Woodrow Wilson's Chris Huffman (picked 28th, got 21st), and Hampshire's William Saville (picked 36th, got 24th). The big mover of the day was Woodrow Wilson's Brennan McGinnis, who moved up 22 spots from his predicted 69th place finish to his actual 47th place finish. From a team standpoint, the best point improvement came from Woodrow Wilson, who scored 22 points fewer than predicted.

I offer my congratulations to the University boys. The pressure was on as the returning champions and the favorites. Add that to a shortened season, and who knows what might happen. But you clearly did the work, ran with confidence, and performed excellently. Your runners graded out at +11, +6, +8, +11, +6, +14, and +16, meaning you all ran extremely well. 3 in the top 5 and 5 in the top 22. Well done.

I offer my congratulations to Josh Edwards. There really wasn't much doubt, but you ran with discipline and control and continuously pushed your lead throughout the last 2/3 of the race. And you get to go for the 3-peat next year.

I offer my congratulations to the boys who shook up the predictions. You prove what I try to tell people every year. Rankings and predictions don't mean anything. That's why we run the race.