The Class AAAA Girls opened the morning session. They were met with chilly but quite tolerable temperatures and a course that was in surprisingly good condition considering the days leading up to the meet. Cabell Midland came in as a fairly heavy favorite but with the always dangerous Morgantown lingering in the background. The ladies from Midland did not disappoint, putting together an exceptional run that saw them score 10 points fewer than predicted. Morgantown did not go away quietly as they scored 15 points fewer than expected, but ultimately, for Cabell Midland, when you put 4 in the top 10, you're probably going to win, and they took the title by 17 points. University ran solidly for 3rd, not threatening the top 2 but distancing themselves clearly from the competition. In the individual battle, pre-meet favorite Brenna Tipton showed just why she was the favorite, taking a solid lead by the top of the hill and extending it throughout, breaking the tape at 18:16 for the 25 second victory over Savannah Pritt, who was just 5 seconds ahead of Morgan Metz for the runner-up spot.

At the top of the hill at approximately 0.75 miles, Wheeling Park's Brenna Tipton had already established a nice lead, coming through at 4:16. Musselman's Sadie Yates was in 2nd at 4:25 with Cabell Midland's Savannah Pritt in 3rd at 4:27. University's Abigail Rogers was in 4th at 4:28 with Hurricane's Francy Tidd in 5th at 4:29 with Parkersburg's Morgan Metz matching that time in 6th. Hurricane's Sofie Zappitelli was in 7th at 4:34 with that time matched by Cabell Midland's Adalyn Cantrell in 8th. Washington's Brooklyn Busch was in 9th at 4:36. University's Cara Zundell was in 10th at 4:37 with Cabell Midland's Lindsey Bailey matching that in 11th. Morgantown's Lauren Hawkins was in 12 at 4:38. Morgantown's Jenna Conaway was in 13th at 4:40 with Washington's Caely Trujillo matching that in 14th. Hurricane's Delainey Burger was at the front of a four-pack at 4:41 in 15th with Cabell Midland's Audrey Adkins in 16th, Morgantown's Leyland Phillips in 17th, and Morgantown's Tumaini Yawe in 18th. Cabell Midland's Charlotte Coakley was in 19th with Cabell Midland's Raegan in 20th with both at 4:43.

At the Mile Mark, Brenna Tipton had maintained her advantage, coming through just about right at 6:00. Sadie Yates remained in 2nd with Savannah Pritt in 3rd with both at 6:08. Morgan Metz had moved into 4th at 6:11, and Abigail Rogers was in 5th at 6:14. Francy Tidd was in 6th at 6:16. These 6 had opened a nice gap on the remainder of the field with Lindsey Bailey the next one through in 7th at 6:26. Adalyn Cantrell was in 8th at 6:27 with Sofie Zappitelli matching that in 9th. Brooklyn Busch was in 10th at 6:28. Lauren Hawkins was in 11th at 6:30. Caely Trujillo and Cara Zundell were in 12th and 13th, respectively at 6:31. Things were very tight as we had four more pass by at 6:32 with Cabell Midland's Emma Coakley now up to 14th, Jenna Conaway in 15th, Leyland Phillips in 16th, and Tumaini Yawe in 17th. Audrey Adkins was in the 18th spot at 6:35, with that time matched by University's Rosalia Biundo in 19th and Morgantown's Megyn Amsler in 20th.

Near the mid-way point (roughly at 1.4 miles), Brenna Tipton passed by at 8:26 and had started extending her lead. Sadie Yates still held a narrow edge over Savannah Pritt for 2nd, 8:38 to 8:39. Morgan Metz was still trailing right behind in 4th at 8:42 with Abigail Rogers in 5th at 8:45. Those 5 had now separated from the pack. Francy Tidd was alone in 6th at 8:53. Lindsey Bailey was in 7th at 9:02 with Sofie Zappitelli in 8th at 9:03 and Adalyn Cantrell in 9th at 9:04. Lauren Hawkins was in 10th at 9:06. Emma Coakley was up to 11th at 9:09 with Jenna Conaway matching that time in 12th. Leyland Phillips had moved up to 13th, and Tumaini Yawe had moved up to 14th with both at 9:10. Caely Trujillo was in 15th at 9:11 with Cara Zundell in 16th at 9:12. Rosalia Biundo had moved into 17th at 9:13 with Megyn Amsler matching that time in 18th. Brooklyn Busch was in 19th at 9:14, and Audrey Adkins was in the 20th spot at 9:16.

At about 1.8 miles, Brenna Tipton had continued to extend her lead, now pushing it out to 18 seconds at 10:48. Savannah Pritt had moved into the 2nd spot at 11:06 with Sadie Yates still right there at 11:07, and Morgan Metz just off them at 11:09. Abigail Rogers had fallen a bit more off the battle for 2nd, coming through in 5th at 11:15. Those 5 were now way ahead of the field. Sofie Zappitelli had moved into the 6th spot at 11:37 with Lindsey Bailey matching that in 7th. Lauren Hawkins was in 8th and Adalyn Cantrell was in 9th with both at 11:39.

At the two mile mark, Brenna Tipton had stretched it out a little more, coming through at 12:03. Savannah Pritt was in 2nd at 12:22. Sadie Yates was at 12:23, and Morgan Metz was at 12:24 keeping the race for 2nd up for grabs. Abigail Rogers was in 5th at 12:33. Lindsey Bailey was up to 6th at 12:58 with Sofie Zappitelli in 7th at 12:59. Lauren Hawkins was in 8th at 13:00. Adalyn Cantrell was in 9th at 13:02. Emma Coakley had moved into the 10th spot at 13:04. She was trailed closely by Tumaini Yawe, Jenna Conaway, and Leyland Phillips, a trio of Morgantown runners, each at 13:05. Caely Trujillo was in 15th at 13:13 with Megyn Amsler up to 16th matching that time. Rosalia Biundo was up to 16th at 13:14. Audrey Adkins was up to 17th at 13:17 with that time matched by Parkersburg South's Haley Raper in 18th. Cara Zundell was in 20th at 13:20 with Washington's Breanna Trujillo in 20th at 13:22.

Coming onto the track, Brenna Tipton was all alone as she pulled further away to the 25 second victory in 18:16. Savannah Pritt pulled away for 2nd in 18:41 with Morgan Metz putting up a fight, taking 3rd in 18:46. Sadie Yates held the 4th spot in 19:01, holding off Abigail Rogers, who was 5th in 19:03. Sofie Zappitelli held off a late surge by Adalyn Cantrell to take the 6th spot 19:37 to 19:38. Tumaini Yawe used a strong last mile and a nice kick to sneak into the 8th position just before the line at 19:42. Lindsey Bailey matched that time in 9th, and Emma Coakley was right there as well in 10th in 19:43. Lauren Hawkins took the 11th spot in 19:50. Rosalia Biundo closed well to move up to 12th in 19:54. Leyland Phillips took the 13th spot in 19:58. Jenna Conaway won a very tight kick race for 14th in 20:02 with Haley Raper in 15th at 20:03 (but just 0.12 separated the two). Megyn Amsler was close behind in 16th in 20:04. Audrey Adkins used a furious last 40 meters to steal the 17th spot just feet before the finish line, taking the line in 20:08 with Caely Trujillo in 18th also with a 20:08 (0.16 separated them). Raegan Freeman closed well to move back into the top 20 with a 19th place finish in 20:14, and Breanna Trujillo took the final medal spot in 20:18.

How did RunWV do on the predictions? I'll call it a solid batch. I got the team champion and runner-up, and only one team placed more than one spot different than where they were predicted. Individually, I got the Individual champion, and the top 5 finished in the exact order they were picked. The next 5 went a bit south, though, as I ended with just 7 of the top 10 and 11 of the top 15. That improved to getting 22 of the top 25. On average, runners finished within 5.20 places of their predicted finish. That's 0.95 better than last year's AAA group, so I'll take it. The trio of ladies who snagged unpredicted podium spots were Cabell Midland's Adalyn Cantrell (picked 13th, got 7th), Morgantown's Tumaini Yawe (picked 7th, got 8th), and Cabell Midland's Emma Coakley (picked 12th, got 10th). Those who climbed into the top 25 were Parkersburg South's Haley Raper (picked 30th, got 15th), George Washington's Haley Knapp (picked 41st, got 21st), and Preston's Ava Simmons (picked 27th, got 25th). The biggest mover of the day was George Washington's Haley Knapps, who climbed 20 spots from a predicted 41st place finish to an actual 21st place finish. From a team standpoint, I'm doing that a little differently this year. The team that scored the largest percentage better than their predicted score gets that nod rather than the team that lowered their score by the most points. That puts the nod in the hands of Morgantown, who outperformed by 19.5%.

In searching for the MVP, it's a little tough because Cabell Midland wasn't really threatened for 1st. Morgantown wasn't really threatened for 2nd. Ulimately, I do see one thing. Sometimes beating a close rival is worth noting, and we got that. It happened at the Regional, but it wasn't expected to happen again, and it wouldn't have if this runner had not placed where she did. She moved up 15 spots, all of them team point places, and they beat their rival by 11 points. For picking up those 15 points, and securing the win over their rival, the 2025 RunWV MVP is Parkersburg South's Haley Raper.

I offer my congratulations to the Cabell Midland girls. You were picked for a really low score and bettered even that. You put 4 girls on the podium, and 6 on the medal stand. All 7 were in the top 26. It was a truly impressive performance. You were at the top of the charts all season, but there were some that still doubted. You certainly silenced any questions today.

I offer my congratulations to Brenna Tipton. You took control early and never looked back. You took control of this race early and never let anyone feel like they had a chance. It was a perfect cap to a breakout season.

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 anything. That's why we run the race.