The Class AA Girls opened noon session. The rain the plagued the last mile of the Class A Boys race had subsided, but temperatures had started to climb as we approaches 70 degrees, and the humidity was heavy. Braxton came in as the team favorite, but not an overwhelming one. They came through with exactly what they needed to do taking the win by a larger-than-expected margin of 20 points. Frankfort had a good day to snag the 2nd spot. Individually, it was expected to be a 3 person race, but that did not materialize as Winfield's Ava Ethridge defended her title from last year with an aggessive run that left everyone else competing for 2nd as she led by over 30 seconds at the 2 mile mark.
At the top of the hill, at approximately 0.75 miles, Winfield's Ava Ethridge had established a significant lead, coming through in 4:28. Frankfort's Addison Tharp and Oak Glen's Hannah Kliner came through in the next two spots at 4:43. Liberty Harrison's Julia Angiulli was close behind in 4th at 4:44. North Marion's Taylor Hess was in 5th at 4:46 after bolting to an early lead at the gun. That time was matched by Grafton's Emily Viani and Braxton's Laura Cain in 6th and 7th, respectively. Herbert Hoover's Jenna Brown was in 8th at 4:47. East Fairmont's Kailee Haymond was in 9th at 4:48. Winfield's Kayla Taylor was in the 10th spot at 4:49. Frankfort's Addison Lease and Braxton's Addison Lloyd were in the next two spots with both at 4:51. Elkins' Julia Biola and Robert C. Byrd's Cienna McKenna were in 13th and 14th with both at 4:53. Fairmont Senior's Aubree Street was in 15th at 4:55 with Shady Spring's Bre Crouse matching that time in 16th. Shady Spring's Gwynn McGinnis was in 17th at 4:59. Winfield's Sophie Briscoe and PikeView's Carli Spade were in 18th and 19th at 5:00. Braxton's Leah Payne was in the 20th spot at 5:01.
At the mile mark, Ava Ethridge had stretched her lead to 19 seconds, coming through at 6:18. Addison Tharp continued to hold a slight lead over Hannah Kliner for 2nd with both at 6:37. Julia Angiulli remained in the 4th spot at 6:39. Laura Cain was up to 5th at 6:41 with Emily Viani matching that time in 6th. Jenna Brown was in 7th at 6:42. Addison Lease was up to 8th and Kailee Haymond in 9th with both at 6:44. Taylor Hess was in 10th at 6:45. Kayla Taylor was in 11th and Addison Lloyd in 12th with both at 6:46. Julia Biola was in 13th at 6:49. Aubree Street was up to 14th at 6:55. Bre Crouse was up to 15th at 6:56 with Cienna McKenna matching that time in 16th. Carli Spade was in 17th at 6:57. Leah Payne was up to 18th at 7:01 with Frankfort's Paisley Raines up to 19th, also at 7:01. Keyser's Ava Barrick was up to 20th at 7:02.
Nearing the mid-way point, Ava Ethridge had continued to really stretch that lead, coming through at 8:56. Addison Tharp and Hannah Kliner continued their battle with Tharp still holding a slight edge but with both at 9:24. Julia Angiulli remained in 4th at 9:27. Emily Viani was close behind in 5th at 9:28. Laura Cain was in 6th at 9:31. Jenna Brown remained in 7th at 9:33. Kailee Haymond had moved into 8th at 9:34 with Addison Lease in 9th at 9:35. Kayla Taylor was back up to 10th at 9:40, just ahead of Addison Lloyd, who matched that time. Taylor Hess was in 12th at 9:41. Julia Biola was in 13th at 9:42. Bre Crouse had moved up to 14th at 9:50 with Aubree Street in 15th at 9:51 and Carli Spade in 16th at 9:52. Cienna McKenna was in 17th at 9:54. Leah Payne was in 18th at 9:59. Paisley Raines was in 19th at 10:01, and Ava Barrick was holding the 20th spot at 10:03.
At about 1.8 miles, Ava Ethridge continued to hold a huge lead, coming past at 11:28. Addison Tharp and Hannah Kliner continued to match strides with both at 12:02 and Tharp still holding a slight edge. Emily Viani had moved into 4th at 12:11, but Angiulli was still right there, matching that time. Laura Cain had closed back up on them and was in 6th at 12:12. Jenna Brown was still in 7th. Addison Lease was up to 8th with Kailee Haymond in 9th.
At the 2 mile mark, Ava Ethridge continued to hold a large lead, coming through at 12:50. Addison Tharp and Hannah Kliner continued their duel with both at 13:23 and Tharp continuing to hold a slight edge. They had actually closed the gap on Ethridge by 1 second. Emily Viani was in 4th at 13:35 with Julia Angiulli in 5th at 13:36. Laura Cain was in 6th at 13:40. Jenna Brown was still in 7th at 13:44. Addison Lease was in 8th and Kailee Haymond in 9th with both at 13:48. Julia Biola had moved into 10th at 13:52, just ahead of Addison Lloyd, who matched that time in 11th. Kayla Taylor was in 12th at 14:00. Carlie Spade had moved up to 13th at 14:03. Bre Crouse had moved up to 14th at 14:08 with Aubree Street in 15th at 14:09. Leah Payne was up to 16th at 14:16. Taylor Hess was in 17th at 14:19. Cienna McKenna was in 18th at 14:23 with Elkins' Emilia Tenney matching that time in 19th. Oak Glen's Lacey Cameron had moved into 20th at 14:25.
Coming onto the track, Ava Ethridge still held a sizeable lead, and she would not be threatened, taking the tape at 19:40. Hannah Kliner had closed hard over the final mile, cutting the deficit by 22 seconds to easily take the 2nd spot in 19:52. Addison Tharp easily held the 3rd spot in 20:01. Emily Viani kept the 4th position in 20:39. With Julia Angiulli falling out due to dehydration, Laura Cain moved up to 5th in 20:45. Kailee Haymond closed well to come up to 6th in 20:56. Jenna Brown took the 7th spot at 21:00, just ahead of Addison Lloyd, who moved up to 8th in 21:01, and Addison Lease in 9th in 21:02. Julia Biola took the final podium position in 21:13. Carli Spade moved up to 11th in 21:31 just staying ahead of the late push of Kayla Taylor who was 12th in 21:32. Bre Crouse was 13th in 21:34. Emilia Tenney closed well and got two passes in the final 20 meters to sneak up to 14th in 21:45. Leah Payne just edged past Aubree Street for 15th with those two matching that 21:45 time. Paisley Raines was close behind in 17th in 21:46. Cienna McKenna held the 18th position in 21:49. East Fairmont's Adriana Bond ran a strong final mile to move up to 19th in 22:00. Lacey Cameron rounded out the top 20 in 22:05.
How did RunWV do on the predictions? It was a mixed bag, solid but not great. The team stuff went pretty well as I got the team champion and all but the 2-3 swap finished exactly where predicted. Individually, I got the individual champion and correctly picked 8 of the top 10. Things deteriorated quickly as I only got 10 of the top 15. I rebounded to get 22 of the top 25 correct. On average, runners finished within 4.87 places of their predicted finish, which is a bit better than last year. The runners who stepped into the podium positions were East Fairmont's Kailee Haymond (picked 11th, got 6th) and Herbert Hoover's Jenna Brown (picked 12th, got 7th). Those who climbed into the top 25 were PikeView's Carli Spade (picked 30th, got 11th), Elkins' Mallory Bennett (picked 29th, got 22nd), and Braxton's Teagan Huff (picked 27th, got 24th). The big mover of the day was PikeView's Carli Spade who rose 19 spots from her predicted 30th place finish to her actual 11th place finish. From a team standpoint, East Fairmont had the best day, scoring 18 points fewer than predicted.
In the search for MVP, Braxton performed well across the board with each of their top 5 improving upon their predicted place. No one in particular made the difference. With the only change in place being for that 2nd podium spot, that is where I have to look. They did have one particular performance that was a step forward. In fact, if this runner finished where predicted, Frankfort missed the podium by 2 points as her move forward included passing a pair of Winfield runners, get double her pleasure for those passes. She only moved up 11 places, but they were a very important 11 places. For that reason, the 2023 RunWV MVP is Frankfort's Bailey Harris.
I offer my congratulations to the Braxton girls. You were ranked at the top almost all season, but still kind of flew under the radar. I still had people asking me on Saturday morning if Braxton was legit or pretenders. You answered that question with a strong performance that powered you to a convincing 20 point victory. Your front 5 all ran well and exceeded their predicted place. You stepped up when it was time to step up. You earned this. Enjoy it.
I offer my congratulations to Ava Ethridge. You chose to take control of the race and you did so in grand fashion, building a lead of over 30 seconds through the 2 mile mark. You ran the race you wanted to run and were never threatened over the last 2 1/2 miles of the race. You are now a two-time champion as just a Sophomore. Exceptional.
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.