The Class A Girls opened the second session. Temperatures had started to climb, and it was now actually a bit warm for ideal racing. Williamstown and Doddridge were expected to vie for the top spot with much hinging on the health of Alyssa Sauro. Sauro ran and ran well...and so did the rest of the Williamstown team (well enough that they would have won without Sauro), and they ran away with the title by 27 points. Doddridge easily held the 2nd spot. Individually, Lexi Lamb was given the favorite nod with Sauro coming off injury, but Sauro ran a disciplined race, made her move into the lead, and when Lamb fell twice, she pulled away for the easy win.

My first checkpoint was at the top of the hill at approximately 0.75 miles. Doddridge's Lexi Lamb had bolted to a solid lead, coming through in 4:09. Williamstown's Alyssa Sauro had moved into a clear 2nd position at 4:17. Charleston Catholic's Bella Boggs was just ahead of Doddridge's Katie Cottrill for 3rd with both at 4:25. St. Marys' Virginia Haddox was in the 5th spot at 4:29. Williamstown's Brianna Winsett was along in 6th at 4:37. Wood County Christian's Lacey Dimit was running 7th at 4:42. Williamstown's Sydney Anderson and teammate Lexi Wynn held the 8th and 9th spots with both at 4:43. Tucker's Katie Hicks was in 10th at 4:47. Charleston Catholic's Hannah Fisher was in 11th at 4:49. Williamstown's Ava Lightfritz was in 12th, making things look good for Williamstown's run at the team title, coming through at 4:51. Tucker's Addi Moats was in 13th at 4:52. Doddridge's Emily Gola was in 14th at 4:56 with that time matched by Ritchie's Chesnee Williams in 15th. Doddridge's Cassie Cumberledge was in 16th at 4:47. The fourseome of Ritchie's Bentlee Williams in 18th, Paden City's Lexi Mathis, Trinity Christian's Evangelia Berry, and Trinity Christian's Jenna Barnett were in the 17th through 20th spots at 4:58.

At the mile mark, Lexi Lamb continued to hold a solid lead at 5:55, but it had closed just a bit with Alyssa Sauro now within 6 seconds at 6:01. Bella Boggs remained in 3rd at 6:14 with Katie Cottrill still in 4th at 6:16. Virginia Haddox continued in the 5th spot at 6:21. These five had really distanced the rest of the field. Brianna Winsett continued to run solo in 6th at 6:36. Sydney Anderson held a slight edge over Lacey Dimit for 7th with both at 6:42. Lexi Wynn was right there as well in 9th at 6:43. Katie Hicks was in the 10th spot at 6:47 with Ava Lightfritz close in 11th at 6:48. Hannah Fisher was in 12th at 6:51 with Addi Moats in 13th at 6:52. Evangelia Berry had climbed up to 14th in 6:54 with Chesnee Williams matching that time in 15th. Cassie Cumberledge remained in 16th at 6:55. Trinity Christian's Sofia Pancoast had risen into 17th at 6:56 with Jenna Barnett matching that time in 18th. Emily Gola was in the 19th spot at 6:57 with Bentlee Williams holding the 20th spot at 6:58.

At the barn at approximately 1.60-1.65 miles, Alyssa Sauro had just made a move into the lead, surging past Lamb just before my checkpoint at 9:53. Lexi Lamb was in 2nd at 9:54. Bella Boggs was in 3rd at 10:22 with Virginia Haddox now in 4th at 10:24 with Katie Cottrill matching that time in 5th. Brianna Winsett continued her lonely run in 6th at 10:49, now with no closer than 13 seconds from her in either direction. Lacey Dimit had moved back into 7th place at 11:02. Katie Hicks was in 8th at 11:06 with Ava Lightfritz now up to 9th with the same time. Right behind them were Lexi Wynn 10th, Sydney Anderson in 11th, and Sofia Pancoast now up to 12th with each at 11:07. Evangelia Berry was up to 13th at 11:08. Cassie Cumberledge had moved up to 14th at 11:14. Chesnee Williams was in 15th at 11:16 with Addi Moats in 16th at 11:17. Jenna Barnett was in 17th at 11:18. Hannah Fisher was in 18th at 11:19. St. Marys' Natalie Bartrug had moved into 19th at 11:20 with Ravenswood's Hadleigh McGoskey in 20th at 11:31.

At the two mile mark, Alyssa Sauro came through at what I'm estimating was about 12:21. I also overheard on a radio that Lexi Lamb had gone down with an ankle injury. Virginia Haddox had made a move that now placed her in the 2nd spot at 13:02. Bella Boggs was in 3rd at 13:04 with Katie Cottrill in 4th at 13:05. Lexi Lamb had gotten up from a 2nd fall to resume running in 5th at 13:10. Brianna Winsett remained in 6th at 13:32. Lacey Dimit remained in 7th at 13:45. Ava Lightfritz was up to 8th at 13:51 with Sydney Anderson in 9th at 13:52, and Lexi Wynn in 10th at 13:53, pretty much sealing up that team title. Sofia Pancoast matched Wynn's time in 11th. Evangelia Berry was in 12th at 13:54. Cassie Cumberledge was up to 13th at 14:01. Katie Hicks was in 14th at 14:02 but starting to feel the impact of dehydration. Natalie Bartrug was up to 15th at 14:04. A big pack came through together, and I think I have the right people with Chesnee Williams in 16th, Hannah Fisher in 17th, Addi Moats in 18th, Jenna Barnett in 19th, and Hadleigh McGoskey in 20th, all at 14:05ish.

Coming onto the track, Alyssa Sauro was all alone. Coming off injury and racing for the first time since September 17th, she was able to power to the big win in 19:01. Virginia Haddox had taken complete control of 2nd, and finished in 19:35. Lexi Lamb had worked her way back into the 3rd spot in 19:49. Bella Boggs held the 4th spot at 20:11. Katie Cottrill claimed the 5th position in 20:33. Lacey Dimit closed well and made a pass on the track to snag 6th in 20:38. Brianna Winsett took the 7th spot in 20:43 in what was the beginning of a swarm of Yellowjackets as she was followed by Ava Lightfritz in 8th in 20:57, Sydney Anderson in 9th, and Lexi Wynn in 10th at 21:03 to give Williamstown five of the top 10 spots and a guaranteed title. Sofia Pancoast held the 11th spot at 21:07 with Evangelia Berry taking 12th in 21:20. Doddridge's Bailey Holden came from outside the top 20 at the 2 mile mark all the way up to 13th in 21:24. Hadleigh McGoskey also closed well to move up to 14th in 21:24. Natalie Bartrug came up to 15th in 21:26. The next three spots were about as close as you can get with just 0.08 seconds separating the three. With each recording a 21:28, 16th was Hannah Fisher, 17th was Chesnee Williams, and 18th was Cassie Cumberledge. Addi Moats took 19th in 21:41, and Bentlee Williams came back up for the 20th spot in 21:52.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? It was a good set. I got the team Champion, and there was actually only one spot in which teams placed out of their predicted order, and that was the 3-4 battle. Individually, I missed the champion, but I did get 9 of the top 10. The fell to just 11 of the top 15 but rebounded to hit 22 of the top 25. On average, runners finished within 4.69 places of their predicted finish, a little worse than last year. The one who fought her way onto the podium was Williamstown's Lexi Wynn (picked 12th, got 10th). Those who rose into the top 25 were Trinity Christian's Evangelia Berry (picked 26th, got 12th), Tyler Consolidated's Emily Ebert (picked 29th, got 21st), and Williamstown's Brookelyn Reynolds (picked 27th, got 23rd). The big mover of the day was Trinity Christian's Evangelia Berry, who climbed 14 spots from her predicted 26th place finish to her actual 12th place finish. The biggest team improvements came from Trinity Christian and St. Marys who each scored 16 points fewer than predicted.

In searching for the MVP, there wasn't a lot of team movement to evaluate. There was the 3-4 swith with Trinity Christian and Charleston Catholic, and I'll certainly give a nod to Evangelia Berry for her work in securing that 3rd spot, I'm going to go against my usual grain in this year's pick. This year, it's more a nod to a season's work and the value it brought to her team. Williamstown had a girl that wasn't varsity last year and ended last year ranked just 59th, but a year of work and improvement and confidence found that same girl on the podium this year. When one of their top runners decided not to run this year, someone had to step up, and she did just that. While she didn't do anything spectacular or unexpected at the State Meet, I think it's fair to say that her improvement and importance were just that. For those reasons, the 2022 RunWV MVP is Williamstown's Sydney Anderson.

I offer my congratulations to the Williamstown girls. You started strong and stayed strong. You were dealt a blow at mid-season with an injury to your top runner and another injury that sidelined another for a couple meets. You rose to the challenge and persevered, and your reward was that title that eluded you last year. You claimed that title in spectacular fashion with five girls on the podium individually. It was an excellent performance to cap an excellent season.

I offer my congratulations to Alyssa Sauro. I didn't know what to expect with you having been out of action for so long. I did initially have you picked for the top spot based on what Irene Riggs did when she came back at her Regional, but I changed it at the last second. You ran a smart race, not letting yourself get drawn out too quickly. You made a decisive move when you closed the gap and made the race your own. It was a well-deserved 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.