Boys 14-and-Under: Griffin Bozan Runs Away With It

• Griffin Bozan, 11, wins in 46:40 — a 7:31/mi pace that left the field nearly 8 minutes behind.
• Landon Tan (2nd, 54:39) and Anthony Silvestri (3rd, 54:54) were separated by just 15 seconds in a tight battle for the runner-up spot.
• Jacob Portis, also 11, finished 4th in 58:36 — the other youngster in the group holding his own against the 14-year-olds.
• Calvin Macgillis rounded out the five-man field in 5th, crossing in 1:07:10 at a 10:49/mi pace.

Five boys lined up for the M0-14 10K in Cleveland on a warm, humid Saturday — 67°F with 83% humidity and a stiff 15 mph wind — and one of them made it look like a different race entirely. Griffin Bozan, just 11 years old from Macedonia, ran a 7:31/mi pace to finish in 46:40, crossing nearly eight minutes ahead of the next finisher. That's not a close race; that's a statement.

Behind Bozan, the real drama played out between Landon Tan of Cuyahoga Falls and Anthony Silvestri of Strongsville. Both 14-year-olds ran nearly the same race — Tan in 54:39 at 8:48/mi, Silvestri in 54:54 at 8:50/mi — with just 15 seconds separating them at the line. Tan held on for 2nd, but Silvestri made him work for every second of it.

Fourth place went to Jacob Portis, another 11-year-old, who finished in 58:36 at 9:26/mi — a solid showing from the youngest half of the field. Portis and Bozan together prove the under-12 crowd came ready to compete. Calvin Macgillis of Kirtland closed out the group in 5th with a 1:07:10 finish, completing a tough 10K in challenging conditions.