Women's 3.5K Ascent: Gibson flips the script on Njeru

• Anna Gibson wins in 27:33 (12:40/mi), the fastest women's split on Snow King→Finish, and never surrendered the lead — one year after finishing 2nd to Njeru here in 2024
• Joyce Muthoni Njeru takes 2nd in 29:06, days after winning the 23K — the defending champ from 2024 settling for silver this time
• Pema Franchi Antelme, just 12 years old, storms to 5th among 162 women in 30:37, holding off Hillary Allen (6th, 30:41) by four seconds
• Janelle Lincks (8th, 31:13) edges Lara Hamilton (9th, 31:14) by a single second

The women's ascent up nearly 8,000 feet of Tahoe sky turned into a rematch — and a reversal. Anna Gibson, runner-up to Joyce Muthoni Njeru in the 2024 edition, controlled this one from the gun, holding 1st at every checkpoint and sealing it with the fastest women's split on the Snow King→Finish push. Her 27:33 at 12:40/mi in thin air topping out near 7,964 feet gave her a 1:33 cushion at the line. It caps a big weekend: Gibson also placed 3rd among the women in the 23K.

Njeru's weekend was arguably the story of the meet even in defeat. Fresh off winning the 23K women's race outright, the Kenyan came back and ran 29:06 for 2nd, with the second-fastest women's closing split — a champion's double by any measure, even if the 2024 winner here couldn't hold off Gibson this time. Jade Belzberg made it a podium of doubles: 3rd in 29:23 after taking 7th among the 23K women, a serious step up from her 9th-place finish here in 2024.

Then came the ages-defying subplot. Sydney Petersen (25) took 4th in 30:20, but right behind her, 12-year-old Pema Franchi Antelme of Cuenca, Ecuador ran 30:37 for 5th — beating veteran mountain runner Hillary Allen (6th, 30:41) by four seconds and outpacing nearly the entire field of 162 women at altitude in a 17 mph wind.

The midfield was ruthless too: Lincks over Hamilton by one second for 8th, and a five-way scramble from Alicia Vargo (14th, 32:27) through Kyla Christopher-Moody (19th, 32:45) decided by just 18 seconds. On a course this short and this steep, every stride up the mountain counted.