The Class AA Boys closed the morning session. Temperatures climbed a bit, but there was still a bit of a chill in the air. Elkins was expected to take the team title with relative ease. While it was closer than predicted, they did indeed win with relative ease. The top 5 teams finished as expected. Individually, Elkins' Trevor George was tabbed as the favorite, and he came through with the win, pulling away in the final mile.

At the top of the hill at approximately 0.75 miles, Frankfort's Ryan Hughes was out to a strong lead, coming through at 3:43. Williamstown's Frank Conner was in 2nd at 3:52 with that time matched by Grafton's M.J. Niggemyer in 3rd, and Keyser's Luca Altobello in 4th. Williamstown's Julian Johnson was in 5th at 3:53 with teammate Will Coiner in 6th at 3:54. Grafton's Colson Annon was in 7th at 3:55 with that time matched by teammate Chase Maier in 8th. Frankfort's Gavin McDonald was in 9th at 3:57 with that time matched by Hampshire Wyatt Thorne in 10th. Frankfort's Johnny Jackson was in 11th at 3:58 with Nicholas County's Johnny Walkup and Luke Barr matching that in 12th and 13th, respectively. Lincoln's Adrian Bott was in 14th at 4:00. Liberty Harrison's Wayne Shuman was in 15th at 4:01. Frankfort's Darius Gray was in 16th at 4:02 with Herbert Hoover's Dylan Straight, Clay County's Sawyer Dobbins, and Wayne's Trenton Ferguson matching that in 17th, 18th, and 19th, respectively. Coming through in 20th was Elkins' Trevor George at 4:03.

At the mile mark, Ryan Hughes continued to hold a large lead, extending it slightly as he came through at 5:15. Frank Conner remained in 2nd at 5:25 with M.J. Niggemyer matching that time in 3rd. Chase Maier had moved into 4th at 5:26 with Julian Johnson in 5th also at 5:26. Colson Annon was in 6th at 5:29 with Will Coiner, Luca Altobello, and Gavin McDonald matching that in 7th through 9th, respectively. Johnny Walkup was up to 10th at 5:30. Trevor George was starting to move up through the field, climbing from 20th to 11th and coming through at 5:32. Teammates Joshua Bodkins and Ben Tenney joined him in his move up throught the field as they were outside the top 20 at the top of the hill and were now up to 12th and 13th at 5:33. Wyatt Thorne matched their time in 14th. I think it was Frankfort's Eric Alexander in 15th at 5:34 with Luke Barr matching that time in 16th. Adrian Bott was in 17th at 5:36. Johnny Jackson was in 18th at 5:37. Austin Shuman was in 19th at 5:38 with Darius Gray matching that in 20th.

Near the mid-way point, Ryan Hughes still held a strong lead at 7:24. Trevor George had plowed his way through the field and was now up to 2nd at 7:33. Hughes was still ahead by 9 seconds, but his gap over George had dropped from 17th seconds to 9 seconds. Frank Conner was in 3rd at 7:35. Joshua Bodkins had moved up to 4th at 7:40 with Benjamin Tenney moving up with him into 5th at 7:41. Those three had moved from 20th, 23rd, and 24th at the top of the hill to 11th, 12th, and 13th at the mile, to 2nd, 4th, and 5th. They absolutely ate this section of the course alive. Chase Maier and M.J. Niggemyer were in 6th and 7th, respectively matching Tenney's 7:41. Julian Johnson was in 8th at 7:42 with Gavin McDonald and Will Coiner matching that time in 9th and 10th, respectively. Colson Annon was in 11th at 7:43. Johnny Walkup was in 12th at 7:44 with Luca Altobello matching that in 13rd. Wyatt Thorne was in 14th at 7:49. Luke Barr was in 15th at 7:50. Darius Gray was up to 16th at 7:51 with Eric Alexander matching that in 17th. Johnny Jackson was in 18th at 7:52. Elkins' Gavin Brown had started working his was up the field as well, moving into 19th at 7:53 with that time matched by Wayne Shuman in 20th.

At about 1.8 miles, Trevor George was in the process of making the pass on Ryan Hughes with both passing me at 9:37. Frank Conner remained in 3rd at 9:46. Joshua Bodkins was still in 4th at 9:51 with Benjamin Tenney in 5th at 9:52. Chase Maier was in 6th at 9:54. Julian Johnson was up to 7th at 9:58. M.J. Niggemyer was in 8th at 9:59 with Will Coiner matching that in 9th. Colson Annon was in 11th at 10:02 with Johnny Walkup matching that in 12th. Luca Altobello was in 13th at 10:04 with Gavin Brown continuing his move up to 14th matching that time. Darius Gray was in 15th at 10:06. Wyatt Thorne was in 16th at 10:08. Eric Alexander was in 17th at 10:11 with Luke Barr matching that in 18th. Wayne Shuman was in 19th at 10:15. Shady Spring's Ethan Dowdy had moved into 20th at 10:17.

At the 2 mile mark, Trevor George had fully taken the lead and opened a bit of a gap, coming through at about 10:43. Ryan Hughes was still within striking distance at 10:46. Frank Conner remained in 3rd at 10:55. Joshua Bodkins and Benjamin Tenney had closed up to within 2 seconds of him at 10:57 in 4th and 5th, respectively. Chase Maier was in 6th at 10:59. Julian Johnson was in 7th at 11:05. M.J. Niggemyer, Will Coiner, and Gavin McDonald held the next three positions with each at 11:06. Colson Annon was in 11th at 11:11 with Johnny Walkup matching that time in 12th. Gavin Brown was up to 13th at 11:12. Darius Gray was up to 14th at 11:13. Luca Altobello was in 15th at 11:14. Wyatt Thorne remained in 16th at 11:18. Eric Alexander was in 17th at 11:20. Luke Barr was in 18th at 11:22. Wayne Shuman maintained the 19th spot at 11:25 with Ethan Dowdy still in 20th at 11:28.

Over the final mile, Trevor George took full control of the race and pulled away to win by over 14 seconds, crossing the line at 16:09. Ryan Hughes was not threatened for 2nd, taking the spot in 16:24. Benjamin Tenney moved up into the 3rd spot at 16:33 with Joshua Bodkins holding the 4th spot at 16:35. Julian Johnson closed well to lead a close pack in the 5th through 9th positions, taking the line in 16:39. Frank Conner took the 6th spot in 16:40 with Colson Annon closing well to take 7th, also in 16:40. Chase Maier held the 8th spot in 16:41, and Gavin Brown continued his late push to move up to 9th in 16:42. Will Coiner took the final podium position in 16:47. Gavin McDonald was 11th in 16:51. M.J. Niggemyer was 12th in 16:57. Wyatt Thorne closed well to move back up to 13th in 17:01. Darius Gray was 14th in 17:04. Johnny Walkup was 15th in 17:05. Luca Altobello took 16th in 17:13. Eric Alexander was 17th in 17:20. Wayne Shuman was 18th in 17:25. Ethan Dowdy moved up to 19th in 17:28. Luke Barr took the final award position in 17:29.

So, how did RunWV do on the predictions? It was a good set. The top 5 teams finished in predicted order. Individually, I got the champion correct, and the predicted top 4 were the top 4 (with 3 and 4 swapped). I also managed 8 of the top 10, 14 of the top 15, and 23 of the top 25. On average, runners finished with 6.64 places of their predicted finish, which is almost a full 1.5 places worse than last year. There were a couple that were over 30 off, which impacted the average by about half a spot by themselves. The two runners who worked their way into a podium finish were Grafton's Chase Maier (picked 14th, got 8th) and Williamstown's Will Coiner (picked 11th, got 10th). Those who moved into the top 25 were Frankfort's Johnny Jackson (picked 27th, got 24th) and Wayne's Colton Preece (picked 31st, got 25th). There was a tie for the big mover of the day. Liberty Harrison's Carter Knight (picked 46th, got 28th) and Liberty Raleigh's Jadon Acord (picked 51st, got 33rd) both moved up 18th spots from their predicted finish. From a team standpoint, Williamstown had the best day, scoring 18 points fewer than their predicted total.

Searching for an MVP is a little tricky with the top 5 teams placing as predicted, so no one had a performance that moved their team up a spot. Was their a performance that preserved a spot? It looks like there was not. So, I'm moving down the charts this year. Buffalo moved from a predicted 7th to 6th, which was realistically as high as they could get. With one of their top runners having a rough day, they needed someone else to put together a strong run. They got that. I had him as their #5, and he ran as their #3, moving up 17 spots from his predicted finish. For that reason, the 2024 RunWV MVP is Buffalo's Trey Tolley.

I offer my congratulations to the Elkins boys. You were the overwhelming favorite and came through with flying colors. You ran with incredible discipline, covering the course the way YOU wanted and not being drawn outside your plan. You had jobs to do, and you did them well.

I offer my congratulations to Trevor George. You were the personification of the discipline mentioned above. I don't believe I've ever seen a pre-race favorite in 20th at the top of the hill, but you clearly had a plan and the all-important confidence to execute that plan. It was a master class in pacing and a well-earned 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.