I'll be doing the recap a little different this year. Since video is available for each race, there's really no need for me to type out a description of how it happened. You can watch the video if you want to see how the race played out.

100 Meter Dash
Greenbrier East's Annie Whited powered away from the field to win in 12.16. That gives her a tie for the 9th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. East Fairmont's Lily Larnerd went 12.48 for 2nd, and Lewis County's Tenly Pickens went 12.58 for 3rd.
RunWV's Current Score: 7 of 8.

200 Meter Dash
Greenbrier East's Annie Whited demolished the field by nearly 0.7 seconds with a 24.64 clocking. That gives her the 3rd Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance along with a Class AAA State Meet Record. Teammate Kiana McClung was 2nd in 25.33 with Lewis County's Tenley Pickens and Point Pleasant's Josie Wray also going under 26 seconds in taking the next two spots.
RunWV's Current Score 13 of 16.

400 Meter Dash
Greenbrier East's Annie Whited got out really well and held a solid lead throughout in taking the win in 57.58. Robert C. Byrd's Julia Angiulli closed well for 2nd in 58.69 with Winfield's Juliana Von Wulffen also closing well to take 3rd in 59.00. Fairmont Senior's Charlee Beresford and Robert C. Byrd's Brea Lathon also run under 60 seconds in taking the next 2 spots.
RunWV's Current Score: 20 of 24.

800 Meter Run
The top dogs went out conservatively with Herbert Hoover's Maysen Fletcher and Winfield's Juliana Von Wulffen side-by-side at the 400 mark with both at 1:08.71. Von Wulffen was on the inside and edged into the lead after the line. She held the lead through the turn and got a stride ahead heading onto the backstretch. Fletcher tried to get by heading into the final turn, but Von Wulffen held her off. Fletcher got on her shoulder through the 2nd half of the turn and slingshotted into the lead with 100 meters to go and pulled away for the hard-fought victory. After the upper-1:08 first lap, Fletcher closed in 1:03.98 to finish in 2:12.69. That is the 6th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 6th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Von Wulffen closed in 1:06.19 to take 2nd in 2:14.90, narrowly missing the AAA list. Greenbrier East's Neena McClintic went 2:16.84 for 3rd with Elkins' Julia Biola in 4th with a 2:17.36. Fairmont Senior's Sadie Kirkland and John Marshall's Zoe Zervos were also under 2:20 in taking the next 2 spots. The top 6 all ran negative splits for the race, and the top 10 all return for next year. Fun. Lap 1- Fletcher, Von Wulffen, Biola, McClintic, Garrett, Tenney, Zervos, Kirkland. Finish - Fletcher, Von Wulffen, McClintic, Biola, Kirkland, Zervos, Tenney, Barrick.
RunWV's Current Score: 27 of 32.

1600 Meter Run
Herbert Hoover's Maysen Fletcher took control fairly early in this one. She had nearly a 2 second lead after the 1st lap, and it was over 5 seconds after two laps. She clocked a 4:50.39, which is the 4th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 4th Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Greenbrier East's Neena McClintic also squeezed in under 5:00 with a 4:59.33 for 2nd place, holding off Elkins' Emilia Tenney, who took 3rd in 5:00.78. Elkins' Julia Biola out dueled Bridgeport's Aria Selario for 4th 5:10.87 to 5:12.69. The top 5 and 7 of the top 8 return next year. Lap 1 - Fletcher, McClintic, Selario, Biola, Torman, Barrick, Tenney, Reese. Lap 2 - Fletcher, McClintic, Tenney, Biola, Selario, Torman, Barrick, Dankiewicz. Lap 3 - Fletcher, McClintic, Tenney, Biola, Selario, Torman, Barrick, McFadden. Finish - Fletcher, McClintic, Tenney, Biola, Selario, Torman, Barrick, McFadden. One of my predicted placers dropped out.
RunWV's Current Score: 34 of 40.

3200 Meter Run
Herbert Hoover's Maysen Fletcher took the lead early and had established a 7 second gap by the end of the 2nd lap. She completed the race in 10:17.13 which is the 3rd Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 3rd Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Elkins' Julia Biola moved into 2nd toward the end of lap 3 and held it the rest of the way, taking the spot in 11:00.21. Bridgeport's Aria Selario held close for 3rd in 11:06.86. 6 of the 8 placer return. Lap 1 - Fletcher, Selario, Biola, Torman, Kirkland, Dankiewicz, Aulenbacher, DeMoss. Lap 2 - Fletcher, Selario, Biola, Kirkland, Torman, Aulenbacher, DeMoss, Dankiewicz. Lap 3 - Fletcher, Biola, Selario, Kirkland, Torman, DeMoss, Aulenbacher, Dankiewicz. Lap 4 - Fletcher, Biola, Selario, Kirkland, Torman, DeMoss, Aulenbacher, Dankiewicz. Lap 5 - Fletcher, Biola, Selario, Kirkland, Torman, DeMoss, McFadden, Aulenbacher. Lap 6 - Fletcher, Biola, Selario, Kirkland, Torman, DeMoss, Aulenbacher, McFadden. Lap 7 - Fletcher, Biola, Selario, Kirkland, Torman, DeMoss, McFadden, Aulenbacher. Finish - Fletcher, Biola, Selario, Kirkland, Torman, DeMoss, Aulenbacher, McFadden.
RunWV's Current Score: 39 of 48.

100 Meter High Hurdles
Greenbrier East got a 1-2 finish from Emma Erskine and Avery Thompson with Erskine running away with the win in 15.79.
RunWV's Current Score: 47 of 56.

300 Meter Low Hurdles
East Fairmont's Carly Manchin pulled into the lead coming out of the turn and pulled away to win by over a second in 45.79. St. Albans' Bethany Farry was a strong 2nd in 46.92. Fairmont Senior's Sophie Starn and Winfield's Gabby Canterbury were also under 48 seconds with Canterbury taking the 4th spot from Heat 1.
RunWV's Current Score: 53 of 64.

4x100 Meter Relay
Greenbrier East used a strong anchor leg from Kiana McClung to take the win, breaking open a very close race at the final exchange. The squad of Avery Thompson, Noelle McClintic, Kala Waller, and Kiana McClung took th eline in 49.54. Fairmont Senior was 2nd in 49.95. Two teams from the fast heat (both of which I had placing) got nailed for false starts.
RunWV's Current Score: 59 of 72.

4x200 Meter Relay
It appeared that Fairmont Senior took the lead on the 2nd leg and maintained it the rest of the way. The unit of Sophie Starn, Tillie Cinalli, Sydney Longwell, and Charlee Beresford sped to a very nice 1:44.56. Hampshire held off Greenbrier East and East Fairmont for 2nd, 1:45.81 to 1:46.14 to 1:46.22.
RunWV's Current Score: 66 of 80.

4x400 Meter Relay
This was one of the better races of the weekend with the top 3 finishing less than a second apart. Greenbrier East took the win and got a 59.7 leg from Neena McClintic on leg 2 and a 59.8 leg from Annie Whited to close it out. It was not at all without drama, though and Robert C. Byrd got a 58.7 leg from Julia Angiulli to almost pull off the upset. The Greenbrier East group of Caroline Perilli-Hancock, Neena MClintic, Noelle McClintic, and Annie Whited got the win in 4:06.00. Robert C. Byrd was 2nd in 4:06.22, and Fairmont Senior was 3rd in 4:06.89 and nearly held on for the win.
RunWV's Current Score: 72 of 88.

4x800 Meter Relay
Elkins got a 2:20 opener from Julia Biola to lead after the first leg. East Fairmont moved into the lead at the end of the 2nd leg. Elkins moved back into the lead after 3 legs. Greenbrier East was in 2nd but Herbert Hoover was within striking distance. Elkins got a 2:15.32 leg from Emilia Tenney to secure the win in 9:43.64. Greenbrier East held the 2nd spot courtesy of a 2:14.62 leg from Neena McClintic, finishing in 9:49.18. Herbert Hoover got a 2:12.65 leg from Maysen Fletcher to make it close, taking 3rd in 9:50.92. Winfield got a big 2:15.48 anchor leg from Juliana Von Wulffen to move from 7th to 4th. Leg 1 - Elkins, East Fairmont, Keyser, Winfield, St. Albans, John Marshall, Greenbrier East, Bridgeport. Leg 2 - East Fairmont, Elkins, Winfield, Greenbrier East, John Marshall, Bridgeport, Herbert Hoover, St. Albans. Leg 3 - Elkins, Greenbrier East, Herbert Hoover, East Fairmont, John Marshall, Bridgeport, Winfield, Shady Spring. Finish - Elkins, Greenbrier East, Herbert Hoover, Winfield, John Marshall, East Fairmont, Bridgeport, Shady Spring.
RunWV's Current Score: 80 of 96.

Shuttle Hurdle Relay
Greenbrier East led pretty much the entire race but added a little drama as anchor leg Emma Erskine must have caught a spike or something in the last couple strides before the finish line and tumbled to the ground, sliding across the finish line on one knee, but still easily in 1st to secure the win for the group of Mia Rowan, Myka Judy, Emma Palmer, and Emma Erskine in 1:05.51. Winfield just edged St. Albans for 2nd, 1:06.32 to 1:06.42.
RunWV's Current Score: 87 of 104.

High Jump
They opened at 4'10 and mercifully 9 girls cleared the opening height. No one cleared 5'0 on their first try, but 6 ended up clearing it. There was a 3 way tie for 1st after everyone had missed twie on 5'2, but Herbert Hoover's Ahaziah Smith cleared the bar on her 3rd attempt to take sole possession of 1st. She then cleared 5'4 on her 2nd attempt to take the convincing win. None of the others cleared 5'2.
RunWV's Current Score: 95 of 112.

Pole Vault
Winfield's Ava Macko vaulted cleanly through 10'0 to secure the win. Only Ripley's Dezzie Steele was able to match that 10'0 vault in taking 2nd. 3 others cleared 9'6.
RunWV's Current Score: 102 of 120.

Long Jump
Bridgeport's Haydn Henderson fouled on her first two attempts, and had to have a clutch 3rd jump to make the finals, but it was a 16'2.50 leap that moved her from the brink of elimination into the lead. She bettered that on her 5th attempt to take the win with a 16'5.50. John Marshall's Ryle McKinley jumped 16'1.75 for 2nd, winning the tie-breaker over Ripley's Kyndyll Butler who matched that jump on her final attempt to move up from 4th.
RunWV's Current Score: 107 of 128.

Shot Put
Bridgeport's Becky Pepper-Jackson moved into the lead on her first throw in finals and then bettered that on a pressure-free final throw of 38'11.75. John Marshall's Paiselee Babiczuk easily took the 2nd spot with a 36'11 throw. 3rd place was over 2 1/2 feet behind.
RunWV's Current Score: 114 of 136.

Discus
John Marshall's Paislee Babiczuk had 5 legal throws, and each of those was over 7 1/2 feet further than the 2nd place throw. She saved the best for last with a huge throw of 139'6. That gives her the 5th Best All-Time State Meet Performance and the 3rd Best All-Time Class AAA State Meet Performance. Less than 2 1/2 feet separated 2nd through 5th with Winfield scoring a big 2nd and 3rd with Grace Yeager and Rylee Gurnee taking those spots.
RunWV's Current Score: 121 of 144.

The final score of 121 of 144 means that 84.0% of the people picked to place did indeed place. That's one better than last year. I had just two events in which all 8 predicted placers placed: 200 and 4x800. Congratulations to those that proved me wrong.

Exceeding Predictions
The following athletes exceeded expectations by 3 or more places and deserve special mention.

Chrishiah Perkins, South Charleston -- 200 M (picked 8th, got 5th)
Mikaela DeMoss, Bridgeport -- 3200 M (not picked, got 6th)
Robert C. Byrd -- 4x100 Meter Relay (not picked, got 3rd)
(Johnnie Elza, Julia Angiulli, Brea Lathon, Abri Williams)
East Fairmont -- 4x200 Meter Relay (not picked, got 4th)
(Torunn Radliffe, Carlyn Manchin, Audrey Singer, Lily Larnerd)
Fairmont Senior -- Shuttle Hurdle Relay (picked 7th, got 4th)
(Sophie Starn, Kaelin Hamilton, Annabelle Chandler, Talia Olivito)
Tiffany Fisher, Ripley -- High Jump (picked 5th, tied for 2nd)
Savannah Davis, Spring Valley -- Long Jump (not picked, got 4th)
Talia Olivito, Fairmont Senior -- Long Jump (not picked, got 5th)
Rylee Gurnee, Winfield -- Shot Put (not picked, got 4th)
Rylee Gurnee, Winfield -- Discus (picked 6th, got 3rd)
Lauren Paugh, East Fairmont -- Discus (not picked, got 5th)

The following teams deserve kudos for scoring seven points or more higher than I predicted.

Class AAA Girls
Fairmont Senior    +14
Winfield           +14