The Class AAA Girls race opened the second session. The off and on rain continued through the break and into the girls race. The team battle was expected to be a Morgantown runaway and it was just that. I had Morgantown pegged to score an incredibly low 25 points. So what did they do? They scored 21. They put 5 in the top 8 and 7 in the top 13. Simply incredible. Hurricane was slated for a strong 2nd, but I had noted that lack of depth could be an issue. That reared its head when their #1 had to drop out of the race. That opened the door for University who put together an excellent meet to snag the 2nd spot. Individually, Irene Riggs was expected to walk away with the title and did so with relative ease, winning by 35 seconds. Allie Martin ran a really strong race for 2nd place, over 30 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

I only got video at the finish for this race as there were problems with the camera...the problem being that the race was at Cabell Midland and the camera and camera man were at Dunkin' Donuts. I'll piece together some semblance of a recap between my notes (which aren't many due to the rain) and the video from the live feed from Video Productions.

Morgantown's Irene Riggs and Hurricane's Audrey Hall led the field out at the gun. Upon crossing the road shortly before heading up the big hill, Irene Riggs was in the lead at 2:19. Audrey Hall was in 2nd at 2:21. Preston's Allie Martin was in 3rd at 2:22. Hurricane's Asha Bora was in 4th at 2:24. Cabell Midland's Emma Jenkins was in 5th at 2:25. Ripley's Ellie Hosaflook was in 6th at 2:26. She was followed by four Morgantown runners at 2:27 and 2:28 (two at each). I'm assuming that it was Lea Hatcher, Amelia Summers, Sophie Renner, and Jennifer O'Palko in some order. University's Adelyn Tager was in 11th at 2:32.

At the top of the hill, Irene Riggs came through in the lead at 4:11. Audrey Hall was pretty close in 2nd at 4:14. They had a pretty good gap on 3rd place Allie Martin, who came through at 4:21. Asha Bora was in 4th at 4:22. It appears that I have written down that Lea Hatcher was in 5th at 4:30. I have Ellie Hosaflook coming through at 4:32, Emma Jenkins at 4:33 and Adelyn Tager at 4:37. I don't know the places, but I'm pretty sure that Jenkins was in 10th and Tager 11th. That would leave the Morgantown trio of Amelia Summers, Sophie Renner, and Jennifer O'Palko in front of or around Hosaflook.

Across from the mile mark, Irene Riggs remained in the lead at 4:37 with Audrey Hall still in 2nd at 4:42. Allie Martin was in 3rd at 4:50. Lea Hatcher had moved into the 4th spot at 4:56 with Asha Bora in 5th at 4:58. Amelia Summers was in 6th at 4:59 with Jennifer O'Palko in 7th at 5:00. Ellie Hosaflook was in 8th at 5:02 with Sophie Renner in 9th at 5:03. Emma Jenkins held the 10th spot at 5:04. Adelyn Tager remained in 11th at 5:09. Morgantown's Anna Lester was in 12th at 5:15 with that time matched by Washington's Katie McGivern in 13th. Jefferson's Addie LaBombard was in 14th at 5:16, and Cabell Midland's Quinn Hazelett was close behind in 15th at 5:17. Morgantown's Madeline Gump was running 16th at 5:19. Cabell Midland's Tatum McKenna matched that time in 17th. Buckhannon-Upshur's Samantha Shreve was in 18th at 5:22. Spring Mills' Faith Bush was in 19th at 5:23, and Woodrow Wilson's Collette Lindley was in 20th at 5:26.

At the mile mark, again my notes are spotty. Irene Riggs had opened up a commanding lead at 5:50. Audrey Hall remained in 2nd at 6:05. Allie Martin remained in 3rd at 6:10 but was now closing. Lea Hatcher was in 4th at 6:15. I show Asha Bora, Ellie Hosaflook, and Emma Jenkins at 6:22. I'm not sure where they were in relation to the Morgantown trio. Adelyn Tager was in 11th at 6:31. I also have written down that Addie LaBombard was at 6:37 adn Samantha Shreve was at 6:45, but I don't know the places.

My next checkpoint was at the WVU Extension service building at approximately 1.4 miles. This the highest point on the course. Again my notes are spotty (and getting worse due to the rain). Irene Riggs had continued to extend her lead, pushing it out to 19 seconds now, coming through in 8:33. Allie Martin had moved into and taken control of 2nd at 8:52. Audrey Hall was in 3rd at 8:58. Lea Hatcher was in 4th at 9:03. I have Ellie Hosaflook and Amelia Summers at 9:10 for 5th and 6th, but I'm not sure of the order. I have Sophie Renner and Jennifer O'Palko both at 9:11 for 7th and 8th, but again I'm not sure of the order. I have Asha Bora now in 9th at 9:12. Emma Jenkins was in there somewhere. I have the same time written down for her that I wrote for Adelyn Tager, who was in 11th at 9:22, but I know she wasn't back there. I have Addie LaBombard listed at 9:36 and Samantha Shreve listed at 9:41. I don't know their places or who else was around them.

At my bonus spot at approximately 1.85 miles, Irene Riggs had added to her lead, coming by at 11:14. Allie Martin had taken complete control of 2nd at 11:36 with Lea Hatcher now alone in 3rd at 11:50. Ellie Hosaflook had moved up to 4th, but I don't have a time written down. It was close between her and those behind her. Amelia Summers was in 5th at 12:01 with Sophie Renner and Jennifer O'Palko matching that time. Emma Jenkins was in 8th with Asha Bora in 9th and Adelyn Tager up to 10th. Audrey Hall had dropped out of the race somewhere before this point.

At the two mile mark, the rain had soaked my notebook to the point that it waas nearly impossible to write. I have Irene Riggs in the lead at 12:07 with Allie Martin in 2nd at 12:30 and Lea Hatcher in 3rd at 12:42. It looks like I've written Ellie Hosaflook down in 4th at 12:52. It looks like I have Sophie Renner and Jennifer O'Palko at 12:57, Amelia Summers at 12:59, and Emma Jenkins at 13:04.

At the finish, Irene Riggs had continued to expand her lead, cruising her way to the 35 second win in 18:24. Allie Martin easily held the 2nd spot in 18:59. Lea Hatcher held onto the 3rd spot in 19:30. Ellie Hosaflook took home the 4th position in 19:38. Emma Jenkins closed really well to move up into 5th in 19:41. Jennifer O'Palko also used a good close to finish 6th in 19:42. Sophie Renner and Amelia Summers made it 3 in a row and 5 of the top 8 for Morgantown, finishing in 19:47 and 19:49, respectively. Adelyn Tager came up to the 9th spot in 20:11 with Asha Bora taking the final podium position at 20:17. Samantha Shreve moved up through the field to finish 11th in 20:24. Madeline Gump and Anna Lester finished in 20:26 and 20:32 to take 12th and 13th, respectively. That gave Morgantown 7 of the top 13 in the race. Addie LaBombard was 14th in 20:33 with Katie McGivern 15th in 20:37. Tatum McKenna was 16th in 20:44. Faith Bush held the 17th spot in 20:50. Quinn Hazelett took the 18th spot in 20:55. University's Haley Kramer moved up for the 19th spot in 21:05 and was followed by teammate Shelby Davis in 20th in 21:13.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? Pretty terrible. I'd say it was among the worst set ever. I did get the top team correct, but who didnt? 4 teams finished 2 or more spots away from their predicted finish with two of those 3 or more spots different. Individually, it started well with getting the individual champion correct and the top 3 spots correct and even 9 of the top 10 and 13 of the top 15. Things went downhill quickly after that as I fell to getting just 19 of the top 25. Somehow, though, the average runner finished just 5.46 places away from their predicted finish, which I guess means along with the big misses, I had a lot there were very, very close. The runner who ascended to that podium position was Morgantown's Amelia Summers (picked 13th, got 8th). Those who moved into the top 25 were Spring Mills' Faith Bush (picked 26th, got 17th), Cabell Midland's Quinn Hazelett (picked 27th, got 18th), Jefferson's Layla Parker (picked 34th, got 21st), University's Mailey Jackson (picked 33rd, got 22nd), Spring Mills' Carolina Wilson (picked 31st, got 24th), and Spring Mills' Teondra Gravier (picked 43rd, got 25th). The big mover on the day was Woodrow Wilson's Kyndall Ince, who moved up 20 spots from her predicted finish of 52nd to her actual finish of 32nd. The team that had the biggest rise of the day was Jefferson, who scored 38 points fewer than predicted, which helped move them from a predicted 6th place finish to an actual 3rd place finish.

It's a tough call for MVP again. Morgantown won by so much that it can't really fall there. University moved up to the 2nd spot, but no one was the complete difference maker, though I'll single out Mailey Jackson for having an excellent rise for them. Jefferson moved up 3 spots. They ran pretty well across the board, but one in particular stepped forward for them to slip them past Cabell Midland for the 3rd spot. She was picked 34th and rose to 21st, picking up 13 team points along the way. For her rise up the charts, the 2021 RunWV MVP is Jefferson's Layla Parker.

I offer my congratulations to the Morgantown girls. This was possibly the most dominant performance I've ever seen at a State Meet. You could take out your top two and still have scored less than half the points of the 2nd place team. 2 of the top 3. 5 of the top 8. 7 of the top 13. It was incredibly impressive to witness.

I offer my congratulations to Irene Riggs. You were far and away the favorite, and you handled your business. You ran you race and steadily pulled away from the field, essentially increasing your lead with every stride. Back-to-back individual and team titles for you.

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.