M1-17 Half Marathon: Diego Sanchez Claims the Youth Title in Napa

• Diego Sanchez, 15, wins in 1:35:43 — a 7:18/mi pace that put him well clear of a competitive under-17 field of nine.
• Closest battle on the podium: Tommy Duffy (2nd, 1:39:00) and Jericho Corpus (3rd, 1:39:50) finished just 50 seconds apart — but the stories behind those times diverged sharply in the back half.
• Biggest closer: Jack Haubold gained 50 places among men on the 6.9M→Finish segment, the strongest finishing move in the field.
• Youngest finisher: Matthew Ma, just 12 years old, crossed in 2:41:14 — completing a half marathon at an age when most kids are still in middle school.

Diego Sanchez, 15, ran the kind of race that leaves little room for debate. His 7:18/mi pace held firm across 13.1 miles in 41°F Napa morning air, and he actually gained four places among men on the back half — 118th to 114th — finishing with the 118th-fastest men's split on the 6.9M-to-Finish stretch. That's a controlled, confident performance from a teenager who never let the race come back to him.

The fight for second and third was genuinely compelling, even if the gap was small. Tommy Duffy (2nd, 1:39:00, 7:33/mi) and Jericho Corpus (3rd, 1:39:50, 7:37/mi) were separated by under a minute at the line — but Corpus was the one fading. He'd been running in 114th among men at the 6.9-mile mark and slipped all the way to 160th by the finish, while Duffy moved in the opposite direction, dropping from 143rd to 149th — a much shallower fade. Duffy's steadier back half is what secured second place.

Hugo Sanchez (4th, 1:51:47) and Jack Haubold (5th, 2:02:23) rounded out the top five, with Haubold's finishing surge — jumping 50 places among men — the most dramatic move of anyone in this group. Nathan Yu (6th, 2:19:38), Cyrus Yee (7th, 2:26:35), Matthew Ma (8th, 2:41:14), and Samuel Wang (9th, 2:41:53) all finished within 39 seconds of each other at the back of the field, with Wang's 12:21/mi just edging Ma's 12:18/mi across 13.1 miles.