F20-24 at CIM 2025: Matarese leads a fast field through Sacramento

• Ellaney Matarese won the F20-24 age group in 2:41:07 (6:09/mi), finishing 79th among all women.
• Caitlin Billman ran down the field late to claim 2nd in 2:42:00, posting the 74th-fastest women's split from 30K to 35K on her way up.
• Claire Nelson rounded out the podium in 2:43:50, with the top three separated by just 2:43 across 26.2 miles.
• Yilin Wu closed with the 60th-fastest women's split from 40K to the finish, landing 4th in 2:45:43.

Ellaney Matarese, 22, from La Cañada Flintridge, took the F20-24 title with a commanding 2:41:07 — a 6:09/mi clip that held up across a cool, overcast Sacramento morning. Her race had an interesting shape: she moved from 62nd among women at the 10K mark up to 44th by 15K — that surge included the 43rd-fastest women's split on that segment — before gradually settling back through the field in the second half. She crossed 79th among women, but her early firepower had already done the damage where it counted.

Caitlin Billman, 24, from Murrieta, ran one of the more patient races in the group. She sat 111th among women through the opening 10K and spent the entire race climbing — methodically, checkpoint by checkpoint — all the way to 85th by the finish and 2nd in the age group in 2:42:00. Her 30K–35K segment was a particular strength, ranking 74th among all women on that stretch, and it helped her build a 53-second cushion over 3rd. Claire Nelson, 22, from Reno, ran a steadier race at 6:15/mi, finishing in 2:43:50. Her best relative segment came between 25K and 30K (72nd-fastest among women), though she faded slightly in the women's standings over the final stretch.

Behind the podium, Yilin Wu (2:45:43, 6:19/mi) and Alicia Anderson (2:47:31, 6:23/mi) rounded out the top five, with Wu's closing kick — the 60th-fastest women's split from 40K to the finish — being the standout moment of her race. Manon Stephen (6th, 2:53:50) through Kira Morrow (10th, 2:59:26) formed a competitive chase pack, with six finishers between 2:53 and 2:59. In a field of 128, the depth of fast young women at CIM this year was real — Tessa Chen (11th, 3:00:01) and both Natalias — Martino (12th, 3:00:23) and Villarreal (13th, 3:00:40) — all came home within 40 seconds of each other just past the three-hour mark.