The Class AA Girls opened the second session. The temperature had risen to pretty much perfect running conditions. Winfield came in as the pretty solid favorite, but it was Fairmont Senior rising well above their 3rd place prediction to snag the title with excellent racing from the Polar Bear ladies, taking a 6 point victory over favored Winfield. Philip Barbour made things interesting with strong runs of their own. Individually, it was expected to be a three-way battle, and those three took the top spots, but in exactly the opposite order of what was predicted. Lydia Falkenstein ran a disciplined race and then crushed the last half mile to take the big win. Rachel Withrow led most of the race before settling for the runner-up spot while Erykah Christopher held the 3rd spot.

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 catching an early glimpse of Winfield's Rachel Withrow with the early lead and East Fairmont's Erykah Christopher in 2nd, we move on to past the top of the hill, but well before the mile mark. I estimate at close to 0.8 miles. At this point, Rachel Withrow was in the lead at 4:53. Erykah Christopher was in 2nd at 4:57. Fairmont Senior's Lydia Falkenstein was in 3rd at 5:04. Scott's Jalynn Browning was in 4th at 5:12. Nicholas' Natalie Barr was in 5th at 5:17. Winfield's Alana Roberts was in 6th at 5:19 with that time matched by Berkeley Springs' Audrey Helmick in 7th. Philip Barbour's Audrey Williams was in 8th at 5:20. Philip Barbour's JayCee Everson was in the 9th spot at 5:24 with Wayne's Olivia Williamson and Wayne's Emily Williamson matching that time in 10th and 11th, respectively. North Marion's Taylor Hess was in 12th at 5:27. Oak Glen's Sophia Arner was in 13th at 5:28. Winfield's Ella Wikel was in the 14th spot at 5:31 with that time matched by Wayne's Laura Queen in 15th. Winfield's Miriam Al-Zoubi was in 16th at 5:32. Elkins' Addison Berdine was leading a close race for 17th at 5:33, just ahead of Nicholas' Kathleen Walkup and Fairmont Senior's Bella Haught with the same time. The top 20 was rounded out by East Fairmont's Sophia Schnore at 5:34.

The next spot showed just past the mile mark, and Rachel Withrow was in the lead at 6:21. Erykah Christopher remained in 2nd at 6:26. Lydia Falkenstein remained in 3rd at 6:32. The camera was shifting angles as it went past Jalynn Browning in 4th, Audrey Helmick in 5th, Audrey Williams in 6th, Natlie Barr in 7th, and Alana Roberts in 8th. JayCee Everson continued to hold the 9th spot at 6:42. Olivia Williamson was in 10th at 6:44. Taylor Hess had moved into 11th at 6:47, just ahead of Emily Williamson with the same time. I believe it was Sophia Arner in 13th at 6:53, trailed closely by Bella Haught and Addison Berdine in 14th and 15th, respectively, with both at 6:54. Ella Wikel was in 16th at 6:56 with that itme matched by Sophia Schnore and Laura Queen in 17th and 18th, respectively. Miriam Al-Zoubi was in 19th at 6:57 with that time matched by Fairmont Senior's Sophia Tomana in 20th.

The camera angle wasn't good as it aimed at the highest point on the course at about 1.4 miles, but I could tell that Rachel Withrow remained in the lead at 9:09 with Erykah Christopher having closed the gap in 2nd at 9:11. Lydia Falkenstein continued to run in 3rd at 9:16. I'm pretty sure it was still Jalynn Browning in 4th at 9:37 with Audrey Williams in 5th at 9:39 and Audrey Helmick in 6th at 9:40. After that, it was just too hard to tell.

The next spot was at the 180 degree turn just before the 2 mile mark. Rachel Withrow continued to lead at 12:34. Lydia Falkenstein had moved into the 2nd spot at 12:38. Erykah Christopher was in 3rd at 12:45. Audrey Williams had moved into 4th at 13:12, just ahead of Jalynn Browning with the same time. Audrey Helmick was in 6th at 13:26. Taylor Hess was in 7th at 13:30. Olivia Williamson was in 8th at 13:31. JayCee Everson was in 9th at 13:32. Alana Roberts was in the 10th spot at 13:37. Bella Haught had moved up to 11th at 13:45. I think it was Natalie Barr in 12th at 13:47. Berkeley Springs' Belle Harvey was in 13th at 13:48. Addison Berdine was in 14th at 13:53. Ella Wikel was in 15th at 13:57. Frankfort's Addison Lease had joined the top 20 and moved up to 16th at 13:58. Sophia Arner was in 17th at 14:01. Sophia Tomana was in 18th at 14:03. Kathleen Walkup was back in the top 20 in 19th at 14:04. Laura Queen was in 20th at 14:07.

The camera moved to the middle of the starting field. Rachel Withrow was still in the lead at 15:51, but Lydia Falkenstein had just started her final push and came through in 15:52. The pass was made just after they left the camera shot. Erykah Christopher was still in 3rd at 16:16. The camera angle shifted to the end of the field and followed Christopher rounding the corner at 16:31. Audrey Williams had taken control of 4th at 16:48. Jalynn Browning was in 5th at 16:55. Taylor Hess was up to 6th at 17:13. Olivia Williamson was in 7th at 17:15. Audrey Helmick was in 8th at 17:16. JayCee Everson remained in that 9th position at 17:19. Alana Roberts was still in 10th at 17:26. Bella Haught remained in 11th at 17:34. Belle Harvey was in 12th at 17:38. Addison Berdine was in 13th at 17:44. Natalie Barr was in 14th at 17:46. Addison Lease was up to 15th in 17:48. Ella Wikel was in 16th at 17:51. Sophia Arner was in 17th at 17:53. Sophia Tomana was in 18th at 18:02. Miriam Al-Zoubi was in 19th at 18:03. Kathleen Walkup was in 20th at 18:05.

Coming onto the track, Lydia Falkenstein had taken complete control of the race, opening a large gap in that final half mile, and she rounded the turn for victory, taking the win in 19:21. Rachel Withrow easily held the 2nd spot in 19:39. Erykah Christopher was never threatened for the 3rd spot, coming through in 20:06. Audrey Williams held the 4th position in 20:22. Jaylynn Browning easily held the 5th spot in 20:31. Audrey Helmick used a strong kick to make a move into the 6th spot in the last 30 meters, crossing in 20:48. Olivia Williamson just edged past Taylor Hess at the line for 7th with both coming through in 20:49. JayCee Everson took the 9th spot in 20:54. Alana Roberts took the final podium position in 21:05. Bella Haught was 11th in 21:17. Belle Harvey was 12th in 21:20. Addison Berdine came through in 13th in 21:26. Frankfort's Addison Lease moved into 14th in 21:30. Ella Wikel was 15th in 21:34, just edging out Sophia Arner, who was 16th in 21:35. Natalie Barr held 17th in 21:41. Miriam Al-Zoubi was 18th in 21:49. Sophia Tomana was 19th in 21:51. Sophia Schnore rounded out the top 20 in 21:55.

In searching for the MVP, obviously, I have to look again at Fairmont Senior. They had several strong performances, starting with Lydia Falkenstein's championship run, but they had two who stepped up big time. The first finished 16 places ahead of her predicted place and picked up 12 team points, which was certainly enough to make the difference in this meet. The second finished a whopping 28 places ahead of her predicted finish. She wasn't expected to be in the top 5 for the team, and she ran as the #3. The #5 was predicted to score 23 team points, and this runner scored 13...again enough to make the difference. If they both run where predicted, not only would Fairmont Senior not have won, they wouldn't have made the podium. One had a bigger move. One had a move that was further up in the field. So, how do I pick between the two. I don't. They were both absolutely critical to the title. For their huge performances, the 2020 RunWV MVP goes to Fairmont Senior's Bella Haught and Stella Episcopo.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Not very well. The team champion was wrong with the 3rd place predicted team taking the title. Only positions 8 and 9 finished as predicted. Only two teams were different by more than one place than predicted, so at least I have that. Individually, I didn't get the individual champion, and I only got 7 of the top 10. It improved to 13 of the top 15, but ended at 21 of the top 25, which isn't terrible. On average, runners finished within 5.56 places of their predicted finish. The runners who climbed into the coveted podium positions were Berkeley Springs' Audrey Helmick (picked 15th, got 6th), North Marion's Taylor Hess (picked 11th, got 8th), and Philip Barbour's JayCee Everson (picked 12th, got 9th). Those who climbed into the top 25 were Fairmont Senior's Bella Haught (picked 27th, got 11th), East Fairmont's Sophia Schnore (picked 28th, got 20th), Fairmont Senior's Stella Episcopo (picked 50th, got 22nd), and Liberty Harrison's Destiny Berryman (picked 39th, got 24th). The big mover of the day was Fairmont Senior's Stella Episcopo, who moved up 28 spots from her predicted 50th place finish to her actual, critical 22nd place finish. From a team standpoint, Fairmont Senior had the best run, scoring 18 points fewer than predicted.

I offer my congratulations to the Fairmont Senior girls. Depth again rears its head. You had two runners really step up. You had one step forward for the individual title, and importantly, no one dropped the ball. You did everything you had to do to snag this title. It had to be considered an outside shot, but you took that shot. "I am not throwin' away my shot." - Hamilton. And you didn't throw away your shot.

I offer my congratulations to Lydia Falkenstein. You ran your race. You didn't allow yourself to get drawn out early. You bided your time, closing the gap, closing the gap. And when it was time, you made your move, and it was a decisive one. The last half mile was exceptional, and it gave you an individual title.

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.