M20-24: Samuel Haynes Claims the Age Group in 2:36:14

• Samuel Haynes won the M20-24 group in 2:36:14 (5:58/mi), finishing 5th among men overall.
• Andrew Taylor was 2nd in 2:38:52, with Isaiah King 3rd in 2:39:30 — just 38 seconds separating silver and bronze.
• The top three finished within 3:16 of each other; 4th-place Ian Owens was nearly 13 minutes back at 2:52:06.
• Three runners — Kam David, Jacob Flaugher, and Harrison Powell — finished within 10 seconds of each other (3:19:42, 3:19:47, 3:19:52) for places 10–12.

Samuel Haynes ran the most controlled race at the front, holding 7th among men through the first half before pushing up to 5th by the finish. His 5:58/mi average on a warm, breezy December morning — 70°F, 17 mph wind, and 76% humidity — was a genuine statement. Between the 10K and the half, Haynes posted the 6th-fastest men's split in the field, a stretch where he was clearly finding his rhythm and beginning to separate himself from the pack.

Andrew Taylor and Isaiah King ran shoulder-to-shoulder for most of the race — both holding 6th and 9th among men respectively through the half — before the final miles sorted them out. Taylor's 2:38:52 to King's 2:39:30 left just 38 seconds between them, and Taylor showed his own late-race strength with the 5th-fastest men's split from 31K to the finish, confirming he was still accelerating when it mattered most.

The bigger story behind the podium was the contrast in trajectories. Dustin Rutter (5th, 2:53:45) came through the half in 16th among men but faded to 25th by the finish — a notable drift over the back half in the humid conditions. Ian Owens ran the opposite race, moving steadily from 25th among men at the 10K all the way to 21st at the line, and his 18th-fastest men's split from 10K to the half showed he was building momentum early. The gap between 3rd and 4th in the M20-24 group — nearly 13 minutes — made the podium a closed conversation, but the racing deeper in the field was anything but settled.