Meet: AAA Boys State Meet Predictions Location: Elkins, WV Date: To be held October 27, 2001 Predicted AAA Boys Team Results With the exception of an early season meet which they ran without a couple of their varsity runners, Cabell Midland has been untouchable. With four of the top 11 runners in the individual rankings, it's easy to see why. Midland should romp to an easy victory. Our picks show a 74 point gap between first and second, while only 60 points separate 2nd from 9th. That means the battle for 2nd place should be a great one. Preston has held the 2nd spot in the rankings for most of the season, and could claim 2nd place without having a single runner finish in the top 25. They will have to run well, though, because Fairmont Senior and East Fairmont are on their heels. Fairmont Senior has been showing some muscle late in the season and are very dangerous. George Washington could rise up to the 2nd or 3rd spot if they receive a standout performance such as the one they received last season from Eric Ferguson. Elkins, Parkersburg South, University, and St. Albans could all lay claim to top five positions. Aside from first place, this will be the most fun team race to watch as the remainder of the places will be tightly contested. 1. Cabell Midland CM 54 2. Preston Pre 128 3. Fairmont Senior FS 136 4. East Fairmont EF 139 5. George Washington GW 150 6. Elkins Elk 157 7. Parkersburg South PS 168 8. University Uni 176 9. St. Albans SA 188 10. Ripley Rip 213 11. Parkersburg PHS 241 12. Woodrow Wilson WW 272 13. Hedgesville Hed 288 Predicted Boys AAA Top 25 If the Forest Festival was any indication, this should be a great race. Tyler Devault took the Forest Festival by 4 seconds over Chris Walsh and by 7 seconds over Ben Lukowski. Those should be the three battling for the title at this meet as well. Keith Rand has closed ground on them in the latter part of the season, but likely will be just short of them. Ryan Smith should claim the other top 5 position. After the first five, the All-State positions are up for grabs. Cabell Midland could take four of those spots, but several other runners have their eyes on that prize as well. Team Place Score Name Year Team --------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1 Devault, Tyler 12 East Fairmont 2 2 Walsh, Chris 12 Geo. Washington 3 3 Lukowski, Ben 12 St. Albans 4 Rand, Keith 12 Morgantown 5 Smith, Ryan 12 Brooke 6 4 Kitching, Richard 12 Cabell Midland 7 5 Cooke, Greg 11 Cabell Midland 8 6 Cooper, Eric 9 Cabell Midland 9 7 Ferrell, Dave 11 Parkersburg 10 8 Nelson, Jon 11 Cabell Midland 11 9 White, Joseph 11 Elkins 12 10 Waybright, Craig 12 Ripley 13 11 Hobbs, Thomas 11 Woodrow Wilson 14 Miller, Jonathan 11 Hampshire 15 Mason, Josh 11 North Marion 16 Bossert, Justin 10 Roane 17 12 Hiser, Stephen 12 University 18 13 Blood, Matt 12 Fairmont Senior 19 14 Rodgers, Daniel 11 Hedgesville 20 15 Wright, Brian 10 East Fairmont 21 16 Johnson, Steve 11 Elkins 22 17 Hopper, Kenneth 12 Geo. Washington 23 18 Boggess, Forrest 12 Park. South 24 19 White, Tyler 12 Preston 25 20 McMullen, Joel 11 Fairmont Senior