M20-24 at CIM 2025: Mccann edges Sherman in a five-second thriller

• Michael Mccann, 2:14:57 — wins the M20-24 age group at 5:09/mi, holding off Evan Sherman by just five seconds in one of the tightest finishes of the morning.
• Evan Sherman's early charge: Sherman ran as high as 14th among men through the first 10K, posting the 17th-fastest 5K→10K split in the men's field — but faded to 42nd among men by the finish while Mccann closed steadily to take the win.
• Braden Nicholson, 2:16:42: The Loveland, CO runner earned third with the 12th-fastest 25K→30K split in the men's field, a mid-race surge that helped him climb from 81st to 59th among men.
• 194 finishers in the M20-24 age group, with the top 12 all breaking 2:24 on a cool, overcast Sacramento morning.

The M20-24 age group at CIM 2025 produced a genuine race-within-a-race at the front. Michael Mccann (22, Lackawanna County, PA) and Evan Sherman (24, Brooklyn, NY) crossed the line at 2:14:57 and 2:15:02 respectively — five seconds apart after 26.2 miles at a blistering 5:09/mi average. Sherman looked like the man to beat through the early miles, moving as high as 14th among men and backing it up with one of the faster 5K→10K splits in the field. Mccann, meanwhile, ran a more measured race, sitting around 37th–40th among men for much of the second half. The gap tells the real story: Sherman faded over the final 10K while Mccann held his form, and five seconds was all that separated them at the line.

Third place went to Braden Nicholson (24, Loveland, CO) in 2:16:42 — a full 1:40 behind Sherman, which made the podium gap far more decisive than the battle above it. Nicholson's 12th-fastest 25K→30K split in the men's field was the engine of his race, lifting him from 81st to eventually 59th among men. Nate Tavakolian (23, Santa Barbara, CA) was fourth in 2:18:33, and Jacob Lehmann Duke (24, Berkeley, CA) rounded out the top five in 2:19:21, finishing strong with the 58th-fastest 40K-to-finish split in the men's field.

Behind the top five, the age group remained competitive through the top dozen. Max Jaffe (6th, 2:19:55), Aaron Bratt (7th, 2:20:19), Caleb Haugland (8th, 2:21:28), Evan Franco (9th, 2:21:39), and Sheldon Watanabe (10th, 2:22:01) all finished within seven minutes of the winner — a deep, fast cohort on a cold, calm morning in Sacramento.