M1-17 Half Marathon: Aidan Liwag leads a Modesto sweep of the top two

• Aidan Liwag, 15, wins in 1:33:07 (7:06/mi), with twin Noah Liwag taking 2nd in 1:34:28 — a 1:21 gap between the brothers at the line.
• S. Burghdorf, age 12, claimed 3rd in 1:37:27 — a remarkable podium for one of the youngest runners in the field.
• The top four all broke 1:42, with Chase Oliver (14) rounding out that group in 1:41:17 at 7:44/mi.
• Nine finishers completed the M1-17 race, ranging from a 1:33 winner to Kritsawat Sangsook's 3:12:49 closer.

The headline story in the M1-17 field is impossible to miss: two 15-year-olds from Modesto, CA went 1-2, and they share a last name. Aidan Liwag crossed in 1:33:07 at a 7:06/mi clip, and brother Noah was right behind at 1:34:28 (7:12/mi). The margin looks tidy, but the second half told a more interesting tale — Noah actually ran the 6.9M-to-finish segment faster, climbing from 157th to 123rd among the men's field, while Aidan moved from 126th to 108th. Noah was the stronger closer, but Aidan had built enough of a cushion in the opening miles that the win was his to keep.

Third place went to S. Burghdorf of Montrose, CA — and at just 12 years old, that's one of the more striking performances of the morning. Burghdorf finished in 1:37:27 (7:26/mi), though the final leg told a story of fading slightly: a gender place of 122nd at the first checkpoint drifted to 150th by the finish. Still, a 1:37 half marathon at age 12 is a number worth underlining. Burghdorf's 13-year-old sibling B. Burghdorf also made the trip from Montrose and finished 6th in 2:07:40 — a family day out in Napa with hardware to show for it.

Chase Oliver, 14, of Saint Helena — local to Napa Valley — was a strong 4th in 1:41:17, running a 7:44/mi average and posting the 159th-fastest men's split on the back half of the course. A clear gap then opened to 5th-place S. Stilwell (1:59:04) and beyond, with Bryan Baltazar (2:20:13), E. Mcchesney (2:42:29), and Kritsawat Sangsook (3:12:49) completing the nine-runner field. Every finisher earned their medal on a cool, humid Napa morning.