The Class A Boys closed middle session. The temperature had continued to rise, and it was now getting uncomforably warm for racing. Williamstown was expected to run away with the title, and they did so with ease, scoring the win by 28 points. Buffalo was expected to take a strong 2nd, and they did so as well. Individually, Aidan Scott was the favorite to win but was expected to be challenged by Chase Trembly. While Trembly easily held the 2nd spot, Scott was never threatened as he opened a gap early and steadily increased it over the remainder of the race to win by 35 seconds.

My first checkpoint was at the top of the hill which is about 0.75 miles into the race. Wheeling Central's Aidan Scott had already staked a solid lead, coming through at 3:49. Williamstown's Chase Trembly was in the 2nd spot at 3:54. Paw Paw's Donovan Tanouye was close behind him in the 3rd spot at 3:55. There was a small gap back to 4th, Sherman's A.J. Skeens at 3:58. He was trailed closely by Doddridge's Carter Sias in 5th and Tyler Consolidated's Jaden Ebert in 6th with both at 3:59. Williamstown's Zach Cannon was in 7th at 4:00. A trio came through at 4:01 with Buffalo's Nicholas Pitchford in 8th, Magnolia's Landen Davis in 9th, and Buffalo's Patrick Reilly in 10th. Buffalo's Jackson Mallett was in 11th at 4:03 with Williamstown's Julian Johnson and Ravenswood's Cade Curfman matching that time in 12th and 13th, respectively. Williamstown's Frank Conner was in 14th at 4:04 with teammate Will Coiner and Ritchie's Heath Knight in 15th and 16th, respectively, matching that time. The Charleston Catholic duo of Isaac Collins and Hunter Perry were in 17th and 18th with Tyler Consolidated's Amos Kimble in 19th with all at 4:06. Buffalo's Dylan Blackshire was in 20th at 4:07.

At the mile mark, Aidan Scott had extended his lead, coming through at 5:20. Chase Trembly was in control of 2nd at 5:28. Carter Sias had moved into the 3rd spot, just ahead of Donovan Tanouye with both at 5:32. A.J. Skeens remained in 5th at 5:34. There was a gap back to #6, Zach Cannon at 5:39. Jaden Ebert was in 7th at 5:40. A tight pack came through with Landed Davis in 8th, Nicholas Pitchford in 9th, Patrick Reilly in 10th, and Julian Johnson in 11th with each at 5:41. Continuing that pack at 5:42 was Jackson Mallett in 12th and Hunter Perry all the way up to 13th. They were followed by Isaac Collins in 14th at 5:43. Will Coiner was in 15th at 5:44 with Cade Curfman matching that time in 16th. Heath Knight was in 17th at 5:46. Amos Kimble was in 18th at 5:47. Frank Conner was in 19th at 5:50, and St. Marys' Max Dauch had moved into 20th at 5:51.

At the barn at approximatelyl 1.60 to 1.65 miles, Aidan Scott had further stretched his lead, coming through at 8:44. Chase Trembly had taken further control of 2nd at 8:57. Donovan Tanouye and Carter Sias continued to battle for the 3rd spot with Tanouye now having a slight edge with both at 9:04. A.J. Skeens was still not far back in 5th at 9:08. The gap back to the rest of the field had grown. Nicholas Pitchford was now in 6th at 9:21 but with Patrick Reilly in 7th and Zach Cannon in 8th matching that time. Landen Davis was in 9th at 9:23. Julian Johnson was up to 10th at 9:25. Isaac Collins was in 11th, Hunter Perry in 12th, and Jaden Ebert in 13th with each at 9:27. Cade Curfman was in 14th at 9:29 with Max Dauch up to 15th and Jackson Mallett in 16th matching that time. Will Coiner was in 17th at 9:30. Amos Kimble was in 18th at 9:37. Notre Dame's Evan McElwayne had worked his way up to 19th at 9:42. Dylan Blackshire had moved back into 20th at 9:43.

At the two mile mark, I missed Aidan Scott time, but he was in complete control of the race. Chase Trembly continued to handle the 2nd spot at 11:07. Donovan Tanouye continued to hold just a slight edge over Carter Sias for 3rd with both at 11:18. A.J. Skeens remained in 5th at 11:25. Patrick Reilly was in 6th at 11:42 with Nicholas Pitchford in 7th and Zach Cannon in 8th with the same time. Landen Davis was in 9th at 11:43. Max Dauch had made a nice move to climb into 10th at 11:47. Hunter Perry was in 11th at 11:48 with Isaac Collins in 12th and Julian Johnson in 13th matching that time. Cade Curfman remained in 14th at 11:50. Jackson Mallett was in 15th at 11:52. Jaden Ebert was in 16th and Will Coiner in 17th with both at 11:53. Amos Kimble remained in 18th at 12:01. Evan McElwayne remained in 19th at 12:07, and Dylan Blackshire remained in 20th at 12:15.

At the finish line, it was all Aidan Scott, who I believe had more than doubled his lead over the final mile, sprinting home to the win in 16:23. Chase Trembly was not threatened for the 2nd spot, taking it in 16:58. Donovan Tanouye got away from Carter Sias down the hill and took the 3rd spot in 17:06. Carter Sias easily held the 4th spot in 17:14. A.J. Skeens kept the 5th position in 17:24. Nicholas Pitchford closed well to take the 6th spot and open a gap, finishing in 17:32. Landen Davis also closed well to move up to 7th in 17:38. Julian Johnson moved from 13th at the two mile up to 8th at the finish in 17:41, just getting by Zach Cannon, who finished 9th in 17:42, and Patrick Reilly who finished 10th in 17:43. Max Dauch got the 11th spot in 17:52. There was a gap back to Isaac Collins in 12th in 18:06. Cade Curfman moved up a spot to 13th in 18:11. Hunter Perry was 14th and Jackson Mallett 15th with both crossing in 18:13. Amos Kimble made a late pass to move into 16th in 18:23. Jaden Ebert was 17th in 18:25, just ahead of Will Coiner, who was 18th in 18:26. Evan McElwayne maintained the 19th spot in 18:33, and Dylan Blackshire held the 20th position in 18:37.

So, how did RunWV do on the predictions? This was a pretty good set. I got the team champion, and in fact, every team finished exactly where predicted. I also got the individual champion correct, and I managed to get 9 of the top 10, 12 of the top 15, and a very nice 23 of the top 25. On average, runners finished within 5.32 places of their predicted finish, which isn't as good as last year. The runner who snagged a podium spot was Magnolia's Landen Davis (picked 11th, got 7th). The ones who cracked the top 25 were Buffalo's Dylan Blackshire (picked 26th, got 20th) and Doddridge's Trey McDonough (picked 31st, got 24th). The big mover of the day was St. Marys' Bryce Bills who rose 17 spots from his predicted 46th place finish to his actual 29th place finish. The top team improvement for the day came from Tucker, who scored 11 points fewer than predicted.

With no movement in the team standings, I have to look at place preservation. Was there something that kept a team in their spot. 1st and 2nd were both far enough ahead that there wasn't anything in particular that did the trick for them. In this case, there was a guy who made a leap up the standings...a guy who was supposed to be his team's #6, and a distant #6 at that. He had a stellar race and ran as their #3. It turns out, after a little math, that his rise didn't actually make "the difference," but it doesn't really appear that anyone's did in that 3-4-5 battle. But I'm still going that way because while some on his team were a little off, he more than made up the difference to preserve 4th place for his team. For his strong, unexpected finish, the 2022 RunWV MVP is St. Marys' Bryce Bills.

I offer my congratulations to the Williamstown boys. It wasn't your best day by any means, but that just shows how strong this team was. You had an off day and still won by 28 points. You were the top dog all season long with the target on your backs. You embraced it. You backed it up. 3 on the podium, 4 in the top 20, and 5 in the top 25. There was no doubt where the team title was going.

I offer my congratulations to Aidan Scott. You were top ranked all season long. You took control of the race early and left no doubt that you were going to repeat as champion, and I loved that you went ahead and unleashed a bit of a kick even though no one was even remotely close. It was a well-deserved victory.

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 a thing. That's why we run the race.