Non-Binary Ascent: Montgomery runs away with it, wire to wire

• Ryan Montgomery took the non-binary title in 44:00 (12:12/mi), winning by nearly 18 minutes and holding 1st at every checkpoint
• Kahle Mercer claimed 2nd in 1:01:48, with Calvin Deutschbein just 1:58 back in 3rd at 1:03:46
• Deutschbein's Ascent podium caps a huge weekend triple: 2nd Non-Binary in the 46K and 7th Non-Binary in the 23K
• The finishing order never budged — all four athletes held their position from first checkpoint to the line

This was a race decided early and never in doubt. Ryan Montgomery, 32, of Hanover, NH, grabbed the lead among the non-binary field from the opening checkpoint and simply climbed away, stopping the clock at 44:00 — a 12:12/mi average up a course that tops out near 8,845 feet, where thin air punishes any pace that ambitious. Montgomery closed the deal with the fastest KT 22→Finish split in this field, turning a commanding lead into an emphatic 17:48 winning margin.

Behind the runaway, the real drama was the fight for 2nd. Kahle Mercer of Denver — no stranger to altitude, hailing from the Mile High City — held the runner-up spot the entire way, finishing in 1:01:48 at 17:08/mi. Calvin Deutschbein of Portland stalked in 3rd throughout, crossing in 1:03:46, less than two minutes adrift. Their split rankings on the final KT 22→Finish push mirrored their places — Mercer 2nd-fastest, Deutschbein 3rd — so the gap held firm to the line.

Deutschbein's story goes well beyond this climb. Third here came on top of a runner-up finish in the non-binary field at the 46K and a 7th in the 23K — three races, three results in one Broken Arrow weekend, with a podium in two of them. That kind of volume at 7,500-plus feet is a feat all its own.

Noah Kingdon, 27, of San Rafael, rounded into 4th in 1:43:49 at 28:46/mi, grinding out the full ascent under overcast 61°F skies. Four starters, four finishers — and not a single position changed hands all day.