F20-29: Crumley dominates while Kelly surges late

• Greta Crumley, 1st — 1:45:54 (10:35/mi), a commanding win that was never seriously threatened after the opening miles.
• Brittney Kelly, 2nd — 2:10:08 (13:01/mi), posting the 11th-fastest women's split on the Last Gasp→Finish segment to close strongly.
• Clara Laskey, 3rd and Jazzlyn Stafford, 4th — separated by just 3:04 (2:34:38 vs. 2:37:42) after 10 miles in 73°F heat.
• Madely Martinez, 5th — 2:52:20 (17:14/mi), completing a five-woman F20-29 field across a warm, clear Auburn morning.

Greta Crumley, just 20 years old, turned in the story of the F20-29 age group and then some. She entered the Rattlesnake Bar checkpoint ranked 11th among women, but by the time she cleared Last Gasp she had rocketed to 2nd in the entire women's field — and she held it to the line. Her 10:35/mi average was the engine behind a 1:45:54 finish, and her 2nd-fastest women's split on the Rattlesnake Bar→Last Gasp stretch was the decisive move that separated her from everyone else in the age group.

Brittney Kelly's race told a very different story. She ran the early miles in 5th among women, slipped back to 17th by Last Gasp, but then turned on the afterburners: her 11th-fastest women's split on the Last Gasp→Finish segment was a genuine late charge that pulled her back to 13th among women at the line and secured 2nd in the age group in 2:10:08. The gap back to Crumley — 24:14 — reflects just how dominant the winner was, not any lack of effort from Kelly.

Behind them, Clara Laskey and Jazzlyn Stafford waged the closest battle of the day. Laskey, 21, ran a steady middle stretch, posting the 30th-fastest women's split on Rattlesnake Bar→Last Gasp to finish in 2:34:38. Stafford, 29, held a consistent position among the women throughout — 38th at each checkpoint — before crossing in 2:37:42. Just over three minutes separated them after ten miles on a warm afternoon. Madely Martinez rounded out the five-woman group in 2:52:20, completing the age group at 17:14/mi.