Rocket City Marathon 10K — F15-19: Aponte Takes the Age Group

• Alina Aponte won the F15-19 age group with a finishing time of 8:16:47.
• Sarah Kilareski was 2nd, crossing in 8:29:21 — a gap of 12 minutes and 34 seconds back.
• Both finishers were 16 years old, making this a genuine peer matchup from start to finish.

Just two runners made up the F15-19 field at the Rocket City Marathon 10K, but they gave each other something to race against on a mild December morning in Huntsville — 60°F and overcast, the kind of weather that at least keeps the heat from being a factor.

Alina Aponte, representing Monroe, Georgia, set the pace that mattered, finishing in 8:16:47 at a 79:57-per-mile average. That's a demanding effort over 10 kilometers, and she held it together to claim the age-group win. Sarah Kilareski of Nokesville, Virginia came in 2nd at 8:29:21 — a 81:58-per-mile average — finishing 12 minutes and 34 seconds behind Aponte. In a two-person field, there's no hiding; every minute of that gap was earned on the road.

Credit to both athletes for toeing the line. Competing at 16 in a road marathon event takes commitment, and both Aponte and Kilareski saw it through to the finish.