The Class AA Girls opened late afternoon session. Temperatures continued to climb. Winfield was expected to run away with the team title. It was much closer than expected, but Winfield still took the win by 14 points. Fairmont Senior had an excellent day to move into the 2nd podium position. Individually, it was expected to be a battle between Winfield teammates Rachael Withrow and Ava Ethridge. They did indeed go 1-2, but it was the freshman Ethridge taking the lead not long after the mile mark and pulling away for the 22 second win. Destiny Berryman made it very interesting for the 2nd spot, but Withrow made a comeback on the track to reclaim the spot.

At the top of the hill, at approximately 0.75 miles, Winfield's Rachael Withrow had a gap on the field, coming through at 4:13. Teammate Ava Ethridge was solidly in 2nd at 4:17. Liberty Harrison's Destiny Berryman was in the 3rd spot at 4:21. This group was already way ahead of the rest of the field. East Fairmont's Kailee Haymond was in 4th at 4:37. North Marion's Taylor Hess was in 5th at 4:38, just ahead of Winfield's Miriam Al-Zoubi, who was also at 4:38. Elkins' Samantha Sproul was in the 7th spot at 4:41. Nicholas' Natalie Barr was in 8th at 4:42 with Emily Viani in 9th and Addison Lloyd in 10th matching that time. Wayne's Olivia Williamson was in 11th at 4:44. Frankfort's Addison Lease was in 12th at 4:47. Fairmont Senior's Nevaeh Premo was running 13th at 4:49. Nicholas' Haley Johnson was in 14th at 4:51 with Robert C. Byrd's Claudia Moore in 15th at 4:52. Berkeley Springs' Audrey Helmick was in 16th at 4:53. There was a trio at 4:54 with Oak Glen's Hannah Kliner in 17th, Frankfort's Brooke Jacobs in 18th, and Fairmont Senior's Stella Episcopo in 19th. Winfield's Cami Samples was in 20th at 4:57.

At the mile mark, Rachael Withrow still held the lead at 6:02, but Ava Ethridge had closed to wihin a second at 6:03. Destiny Berryman was in firm control of 3rd at 6:11. Kailee Haymond remained in 4th at 6:32 with Taylor Hess still in 5th at 6:33. Addison Lloyd had moved up to 6th at 6:35. Natalie Barr was up to 7th at 6:36. Samantha Sproul was in 8th at 6:38 with Addison Lease up to 9th at 6:41. Olivia Williamson was up to 10th at 6:42. Emily Viani was in 11th at 6:43. Hannah Kliner had moved up to 12th at 6:45. Claudia Moore was in 13th at 6:47. haley Johnson remained in 14th at 6:48. Nevaeh Premo was in 15th at 6:49. Miriam Al-Zoubi was holding onto the 16th spot at 6:52, just ahead of Audrey Helmick in 17th at the same time. Stella Episcopo was in 18th at 6:54 with that time matched by Brooke Jacobs in 19th. Philip Barbour's Layna Grassi had moved into 20th at 6:57.

At the barn, Ava Ethridge had taken control of the race, coming through at 10:04. Rachael Withrow was in 2nd at 10:11, and Destiny Berryman remained in 3rd at 10:18. Kailee Haymond had pulled away a little in 4th at 10:44. Addison Lloyd had moved up to 5th at 10:48 with Addison Lease up to 6th and Natalie Barr in 7th, with both at 10:49. Taylor Hess was holding the 8th spot at 10:54. Olivia Williamson was up to 9th at 10:57 with Hannah Kliner continuing to climb, now up to 10th at 10:58 Samantha Sproul was in 11th at 10:59. Claudia Moore was in 12th at 11:05 with that time matched by Haley Johnson in 13th. Audrey Helmick was up to 14th at 11:07. Emily Viani was in 15th at 11:15. Fairmont Senior's Bella Haught had moved up into 16th at 11:17. Nevaeh Premo was in 17th at 11:20. Layna Grassi was 18th at 11:23. Brooke Jacobs was in 19th at 11:25, and Stella Episcopo was in 20th at 11:30.

At the 2 mile mark, Ava Ethridge had extended her lead, coming through at 12:37. Rachael Withrow remained in 2nd at 12:48, but Destiny Berryman was starting to close, now within 5 seconds at 12:53. Kailee Haymond remained in 4th at 13:27. Natalie Barr was up to 5th at 13:30. Addison Lloyd was close behind in 6th at 13:32. Hannah Kliner had continued to move up, now up to 7th at 13:36. Addison Lease was in 8th and Taylor Hess was in 9th with both at 13:37. Olivia Williamson was in 10th at 13:43. Haley Johnson was up to 11th with Claudia Moore in 12th, and Samantha Sproul in 13th with each at 13:46. Audrey Helmick was in 14th at 13:51. Bella Haught was up to 15th at 14:09, just ahead of Emily Viani who was in 16th at the same time. Nevaeh Premo remained in 17th at 14:14. Philip Barbour's Megan Mitchell had made a nice move into 18th at 14:16, just ahead of Layna Grassi in 19th at the same time. Brooke Jacobs was holding the 20th spot at 14:22.

Coming onto the track, Ava Ethridge was all alone, having doubled her lead over the final mile. She hit the line at 19:26 for the 22 second win. Destiny Berryman had made the pass on Rachael Withrow before coming onto the track, but Withrow was able to fight back and reclaim the 2nd spot in 19:48. Berryman would take the 3rd spot in 19:51. Kailee Haymond would maintain that 4th place position to the finish, crossing in 20:30. Natalie Barr held the 5th spot in 20:33. Addison Lloyd used an excellent final 50 to move from 8th to 6th, getting the last spot just before the line, finishing in 20:40 for 6th. Haley Johnson had a great final mile to climb from 11th to 7th, also in 20:40. Hannah Kliner took the 8th spot with her disciplined run in 20:43. Addison Lease was 9th in 20:47 with Taylor Hess close behind, taking the final podium position in 10th in 20:49. Audrey Helmick moved up to 11th in 20:06. Samantha Sproul got a late pass to move back into 12th in 21:09. Olivia Williamson was battling dehydration and heat illness that would see her hospitalized following the meet, but forced her way to 13th in 21:10. Claudia Moore was 14th in 21:16. Nevaeh Premo picked up a spot in the homestretch to move back up to 15th in 21:41. Megan Mitchell moved up to 16th in 21:43. Emily Viani took the 17th position in 21:45. Bella Haught held the 18th spot in 21:52. Layna Grassi was 19th in 21:59. Cami Samples came back from 25th at the 2 mile to get 20th in 22:10, getting the final pass after coming out of the turn.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? The was probably my worst batch of the day. I got the team champion correct, but 2-3-4 were all off. I missed on the individual champion, though I knew that was a toss-up. To top it off, I only got 7 of the top 10, only 11 of the top 15, and only 21 of the top 25. On average, runners finished within 5.59 places of their predicted finish, which is a bit worse than last yea. The runners who stepped up into the podium positions were Nicholas County's Haley Johnson (picked 17th, got 7th), Oak Glen's Hannah Kliner (picked 14th, got 8th), and North Marion's Taylor Hess (picked 11th, got 10th). Those who climbed into the top 25 were Oak Glen's Megan Mitchell (picked 30th, got 16th), Winfield's Cami Samples (picked 29th, got 20th), Robert C. Byrd's Cianna McKenna (picked 28th, got 21st), and PikeView's Carli Spade (picked 26th, got 25th). The big mover of the day was Fairmont Senior's Ashlyn Awbrey who rose 16 spots from her predicted 42nd place finish to her actual 26th place finish. From a team standpoint, Fairmont Senior had the best day, scoring a whopping 36 points fewer than predicted.

In the search for MVP, Winfield didn't have anyone who was completely a difference maker. Fairmont Senior and Philip Barbour each moved up a spot. I'll give a quick nod to Philip Barbour's Megan Mitchell who ran exceptionally well for them to put them in a position to snag that podium spot, but Fairmont Senior taking that spot, I'm going in that direction. Each of Fairmont Senior's top 5 ran very well and exceeded their predicted place. None were enough to completely make up the difference between them and Philip Barbour, but two were vital. I've already mentioned that Ashlyn Awbrey was the big mover of the day, but I'm going with the other one. This runner moved up 11 spots from her predicted finish to her actual finish, which isn't as significant of a move as Awbrey's, and in fact, Awbrey ended up beating this runner. But to me, this runner just went for it, and while this may or may not be the way it was...it seemed to me that it kind of set the tone for her teammates behind her. She spent over half the race in the top 20, and while she faded to 27th in the final mile, for her aggression and overall performance in helping Fairmont Senior ascend to the podium, the 2022 RunWV MVP is Fairmont Senior's Stella Episcopo.

I offer my congratulations to the Winfield girls. You sat atop the charts for the entire season. You were strong enough to withstand your #3 runner dropping out and still win by 14 points. Your two power players came through. Your #4 rose to the occasion. You did what needed to be done to achieve the championship.

I offer my congratulations to Ava Ethridge. What a way to end your Freshman campaign. You ran your race, not letting yourself get drawn out to quickly. You were strong and steady throughout and buried the field in the final mile.

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.