The Class AAA Girls race opened the final session. Race conditions continued to be outstanding. The team battle was expected to be between Morgantown and University with Morgantown looking like it had a decisive advantage following the Regional. Both teams outperformed expectations but it was Morgantown who won handily. No one approached these two. Individually, Irene Riggs came in as the prohibitive favorite, and she came through with flying colors. Lea Hatcher put together a really strong race in just her second outing of the year for 2nd.

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.

An early look saw Morgantown's Irene Riggs trailed very closely by Ripley's Ellie Hosaflook with Morgantown's Lea Hatcher about 3 seconds. The camera didn't switch views in time to catch the lead group after the top of the hill.

So, our first checkpoint was at the mile mark...or in that vicinity. The angle was aimed away from the mile marker, so the leaders were past the mile mark before coming into the shot. It was announced that Irene Riggs had come through at 5:45. Ellie Hosaflook remained in the 2nd spot, and Lea Hatcher was still in 3rd. The camera angle then shifted to the mile marker. University's Caroline Kirby was in 4th at 6:12. Hurricane's Audrey Hall was in 5th at 6:13. University's Mia Murray was in 6th at 6:17. There was a gap before the next group, and at this point, I really had to start guessing at some people, so there is a pretty good chance that some of these are not correct. Preston's Allie Martin was in 7th at 6:26 with John Marshall's Zara Zervos in 8th with the same time. I believe it was one of the Morgantown girls in 9th at 6:27. I don't know which one, though. I'm going to guess that this was Jennifer O'Palko. Preston's Abby Nolan was in 10th at 6:28 with that time matched by someone from University...Shelby Davis I think. Hurricane's Asha Bora was in 12th at 6:32. I think 13th and 14th were both from Morgantown, but again, I don't know which ones for sure. I'm guessing Anna Lester and Amelia Summers both at 6:36. I think it was Parkersburg South's Marimo Akita in 15th at 6:41. I'm really unsure of the next one. It could have been Cabell Midland, and it could have been University. I'm guessing Cabell Midland's Emma Jenkins. I'm not sure on 17th either. I'm guessing Addie Labombard from Jefferson. And in 18th, I think was Spring Mills' Carolina Wilson. 16 through 18 were also at 6:41. I think it was Ripley's Opal Huffman in 19th at 6:43 with that time match by another question mark. I think it was Cabell Midland's Tatum McKenna, but I could have Jenkins and McKenna backwards, and both could be University runners as well.

The next checkpoint was at the WVU Extension service building at approximately 1.4 miles. This the highest point on the course. Irene Riggs had opened a lead, but I'm not sure of her time. Lea Hatcher had moved into the 2nd spot at 8:31 with Ellie Hosaflook right behind her at 8:53. Caroline Kirby remained in 4th at 8:54 with Mia Murray now up to 5th in 8:54. Audrey Hall was in 6th at 8:56. Allie Martin remained in 7th at 9:10 with Zara Zervos in 8th at 9:15 and Abby Nolan in 9th at 9:17. It was too hard to tell after that.

The next spot was at the 180 degree turn just before the 2 mile mark. Irene Riggs had firmly established control of the race, rounding the turn at 11:38. Lea Hatcher now had complete control of 2nd at 11:51. Ellie Hosaflook was firmly in 3rd at 12:02. Caroline Kirby was still in the 4th spot at 12:20. Mia Murray continued to run right behind her in 5th at 12:21. Audrey Hall was alone in 6th at 12:30. Allie Martin was running solo in 7th at 12:44. Zara Zervos remained in 8th at 12:57. Abby Nolan was still in 9th at 13:00. Jennifer O'Palko in the 10th spot at 13:01. Anna Lester was in 11th at 13:10 with Amelia Summers in 12th at 13:11. Asha Bora was in 13th at 13:12. Shelby Davis was in 14th at 13:18. Morgantown's Madeline Gump was in 15th at 13:20. Tatum McKenna was in 16th at 13:21. Marimo Akita was in 17th at 13:23 with that time matched by Emma Jenkins in 18th. Carolina Wilson was in 19th at 13:24. Opal Huffman was in 20th at 13:28.

The camera shifted to the starting field and followed Irene Riggs to the corner, leaving her just over 1/2 mile to go and far in front at 114:49. Lea Hatcher was still getting further out in 2nd at 15:10. Ellie Hosaflook was still easily in 3rd at 15:27. Caroline Kirby had opened a bit of a gap for the 4th spot at 15:48. Mia Murray remained in 5th at 15:53. Audrey Hall was still in the 6th spot at 16:11. Allie Martin had closed the gap a bit in 7th at 16:21. Jennifer O'Palko was up to 8th in 16:38. Zara Zervos was in 9th at 16:41. Abby Nolan was in 10th at 16:43. The camera then moved to the track to catch Riggs at the finish.

At the finish line, it was, of course, Irene Riggs cruising to the impressive win, just squeezing in under 18:00 with a 17:59. Lea Hatcher held the 2nd spot at 18:28. Ellie Hosaflook easily held the 3rd position in 18:51. Caroline Kirby kept the 4th spot in 19:07. Mia Murray easily held the 5th spot in 19:13. Audrey Hall held the 6th spot in 19:41. Allie Martin kept the 7th spot in 19:51. Jennifer O'Palko closed really well to cut the gap from 17 seconds to 7 and finished 8th in 19:58. Abby Nolan moved up to 9th in 20:06. Zara Zervos held the final podium spot in 20:15. The next three were interesting. Anna Lester and Shelby Davis passed Asha Bora. Then Davis passed Lester, and then Lester got Davis back. So, Anna Lester gets 11th and Shelby Davis gets 12th with both at 20:30. Asha Bora was 13th in 20:34. Tatum McKenna slipped into 14th in 20:38 just ahead of Amelia Summers was 15th in 20:39. Marimo Akita was 16th in 20:46. Madeline Gump was 17th in 20:49. Carolina Wilson was 18th in 20:51. Addie Labombard moved back up to 19th in 20:55. Opal Huffman rounded out the top 20 in 20:57.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? It was a pretty average showing. The top 3 teams finished in the predicted order, and only 2 teams finished more than 1 place away from their predicted finish. Individually, I got the champion and got 8 of the top 10. That was followed by the very average 12 of the top 15 and very average 20 of the top 25. The two who stepped up to join the podium were Morgantown's Jennifer O'Palko (picked 17th, got 8th) and Preston's Abby Nolan (picked 12th, got 9th). The one was moved into the top 25 were Parkersburg South's Marimo Akita (picked 30th, got 16th), Ripley's Opal Huffman (picked 29th, got 20th), Cabell Midland's Emma Jenkins (picked 46th, got 22nd), University's Haley Kramer (picked 45th, got 24th), and Woodrow Wilson's Gillian Breeden (picked 37th, got 25th). The big mover of the meet was Hampshire's Alex Kile who rose 26 sptos from her predicted 59th place finish to her actual 33rd place finish. That helped Hampshire have the biggest rise of the day as a team, scoring 59 points fewer than predicted. On average, runners finished within 8.29 places of their predicted finish.

It's hard to pick an MVP. I like to look at the top of the standings, but that went exactly as expected and the spots were far enough apart that there wasn't a particular performance that really made a difference. That isn't to say that there weren't exceptional performances for those two teams. In fact, there were several. So, I look at Woodrow Wilson and if there was anything that was critical to them holding the 3rd spot. And I look at Preston and if there was anything critical to them moving up a spot in the standings. And I look at Hampshire, who rose up 3 spots from a predicted 11th to an actual 8th. My problem is that the most likely candidate for Woodrow Wilson (Gillian Breeden) wasn't enough by herself to make the difference. My most likely candidate for Preston (Ella White) also wasn't enough by herself to make the difference. Hampshire...they all outperformed their ranking, several significantly. That makes it really tough. I don't normally like to drop down to 8th for an MVP, but this time I'm going to do it. Hampshire had a runner move up 26 spots and pick up 21 team points along the way. If she finishes where predicted, Hampshire falls back to 10th from 8th. She wasn't the only step-up performer for Hampshire, but she was the biggest. For that performance, the 2020 RunWV MVP for the State Meet is Hampshire's Alex Kile.

I offer my congratulations to the Morgantown girls. Once again, depth rears its wonderful head. You took the top 2 spots, put 3 in the top 10, 5 in the top 15, and 6 in the top 17. That's always going to be hard to beat. You had an abbreviated season, not getting to compete until the very end of September, but you certainly made the most of what you had. Not knowing for sure if you'd ever get to run, you obviously still did the necessary work, and that isn't always easy. You were excellent once again.

I offer my congratulations to Irene Riggs. You made your mark on a short, but dominant season. Only Lea Hatcher's State Meet run was within 30 seconds of you in the meets you got to run. You took over before the mid-way mark and left no doubt the rest of the way.

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.