Men's 10 Mile: Conner Mantz Wires the Field from Start to Finish

• Mantz dominates wire-to-wire: Led the men's race at every checkpoint and closed in 45:12 (4:31/mi), posting the fastest men's split on the final 8.64M-to-Finish stretch to seal it.
• Ten seconds back: Yemane Haileselassie held 2nd throughout and crossed in 45:22 (4:32/mi), also running the 2nd-fastest closing split — a composed, consistent race that never wavered.
• Clayton Young's late charge: Sitting 5th through the first checkpoint, Young climbed to 4th by mid-race and then ran the 3rd-fastest closing split in the men's field to overtake Tsegay Weldlibanos and claim 3rd in 46:06 (4:37/mi).
• A deep, competitive top five: Just 1:13 separated Mantz from 5th-place Andrew Colley (46:25, 4:39/mi) in a men's field of 3,340 finishers.

Conner Mantz, 27, of Provo, UT, was never seriously threatened. He held the men's lead from gun to tape, and his finishing kick — the fastest closing split among all men — made any late challenge a non-starter. His 45:12 edges under the 2022 men's course mark of 46:06 set by Hillary Bor, a meaningful benchmark on this point-to-point route through Minneapolis-Saint Paul's parkways. It was a commanding, front-running performance from first step to last.

The Flagstaff contingent gave Twin Cities a genuine team subplot. Haileselassie (2nd, 45:22), Weldlibanos (4th, 46:15), Zeru (6th, 46:56), Mesel (7th, 47:03), and Baxter (10th, 47:15) all represented the Arizona altitude hub — five men in the top ten from the same training base, a quiet show of collective depth.

The most interesting positional story belonged to Clayton Young, also of Provo. After sitting 5th early, he reeled in Weldlibanos over the back half with the 3rd-fastest closing split in the men's field, finishing in 46:06 (4:37/mi). Weldlibanos, who had run 3rd through two checkpoints, faded to 4th (46:15, 4:38/mi) — a 9-second swing in the final leg. Andrew Colley (5th, 46:25) and Ryan Ford (9th, 47:10) flew the Blowing Rock, NC banner alongside Daniel Schaffer (11th, 47:16), another trio from the same training community making their presence felt.

Further back, local favorite Joel Reichow of White Bear Lake, MN, posted 12th in 47:22 (4:44/mi), and Minneapolis's own Joseph Minor finished 19th in 48:54 (4:53/mi) — two home-state runners racing the streets they know best, on one of America's premier running weekends.