The AAA Girls race was expected to be a battle between Morgantown and Elkins. Our predictions were made without the knowledge that Erika Thompson would be competing for Elkins. Considering that Thompson was 3rd in the state last year, we might have placed her higher than what her single in-season performance dictated. But also, considering that at that meet, she was only the 6th fastest performer for Elkins, we probably wouldn't have moved her up enough to change the fact that Morgantown was the favorite. The gun fired, and we dashed off to the mile mark for the final time. As the runners approached the mile mark, it was already Karen Wigal holding a lead of several seconds. Teammates Maria Dalzot and Claire Berryman were running in 2nd and 3rd. Rebekah Daniel was holding 4th. Ashley Varian and Chelsea Metheny were running in 5th and 6th. Diane Kenaston was in 7th. Alison Spiker was in 8th. Aleacha McClintic was in 9th. In the team race, Morgantown, Elkins, and University all looked strong. Morgantown, holding the top 3 spots, looked to be in position to win.

Our next checkpoint was the two mile mark. Morgantown was still running 1-2-3 at this point. Karen Wigal was way out front. Maria Dalzot and Claire Berryman were together. Diane Kenaston had moved up into 4th. Rebekah Daniel was in 5th. Ashley Varian and Chelsea Metheny were in 6th and 7th. Maria Stover had moved into 8th place. Sierra Wolfe had climbed into 9th place, and Aleacha McClintic was holding 10th. In the team race, Morgantown still held the top 3, but Elkins had 5 of the top 24, while Morgantown only had 4.

At the finish line, it was Karen Wigal finishing well before anyone else came into sight. Her 52 second victory gave her far and away the most dominating individual peformance of the day. Maria Dalzot held on to 2nd place. Rebekah Daniel moved up to 3rd over the last mile. Claire Berryman claimed 4th. Ashley Varian moved up to 5th. Diane Kenaston finished 6th. Maria Stover continued her climb, finishing in 7th place. Sisters Kayla and Sierra Wolfe grabbed 8th and 9th, and Aleacha McClintic claimed the final All-State spot. In the team race, Morgantown used their three front-runners to create enough of a gap to defeat Elkins, who had 7 runners finish before Morgantown's 5th. Morgantown took the win by 11 points. Fairmont Senior edged Preston for 3rd, and University edged Parkersburg for 5th.

The RunWV MVP for the AAA Girls Race is Preston's Brandy Schaeffer. Her rapid rise through the field from a predicted finish of 46th to 22nd allowed Preston to pass Parkersburg and University and nearly catch Fairmont Senior. Congratulations go out to Karen Wigal, Morgantown, and Brandy Schaeffer.

How did RunWV do on our predictions. We fared quite well on the team side. Everyone was in the predicted order, except for Preston, who leaped up two spots into fourth. Individually, 8 of our top 10 finished in the top 10. 12 of our top 15 finished in the top 15. Only 19 of our top 25 finished in the top 25. We offer congratulations to the two girls who slipped in grabbed All-State honors. They are Diane Kenston of Parkersburg and Sierra Wolfe of Fairmont Senior (who we discussed on the drive to Mineral Wells as one that might do just that). We also congratulate the six girls that climbed into the top 25. They are Elkins' Erika Thompson (not predicted, got 16th), Hedgesville's Christy Ashley (predicted 31st, got 17th), Cabell Midland's Amanda Wright (predicted 28th, got 18th), Hurricane's Mandy Estep (predicted 49th, got 19th), Preston's Brandy Schaeffer (predicted 46th, got 22nd), and Preston's Sarah Pauley (predicted 43rd, got 25th). The Big Mover of the day was Hurrican'e Mandy Estep. Her 30 place rise from 49th to 19th proved to be the largest among AAA girls.

All-in-all, our predictions weren't as bad as they seemed during the meet. 30 degree weather always plays a role in shaking things up, and the flat, fast course also makes things more difficult. Congratulations to all the competitors and coaches. Thank you to all the meet officials, volunteers, and sponsors for making an exceptional state meet. And an additional thanks to the workers at the two-mile mark who found my lost floppy disk that held the first 30 pictures I took of the A-AA race.