F15-19 Half Marathon: Katy Butler Dominates in 1:25:08

• Katy Butler won the F15-19 age group in 1:25:08 (6:30/mi), finishing 2nd among all women in the race.
• Butler posted the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-Finish stretch, pulling away from the field in the back half.
• Ava Lang took 2nd in the age group in 1:37:18, climbing from 10th to 8th among women on that same closing segment.
• Emma Haynes and Sydney Huffman finished 4th and 5th separated by just 6 seconds (2:12:50 vs. 2:12:56).

Katy Butler turned in one of the standout performances of the entire women's race at Rocket City. Running 6:30 per mile across 13.1 miles on a mild December morning in Huntsville, the 19-year-old from Dayton, Ohio held 2nd among all women from start to finish — a position she never surrendered. Her back half was especially sharp: her 10K-to-Finish split ranked 3rd among all women in the field, a sign she was still pressing when others were managing.

Ava Lang was a clear and comfortable 2nd in the F15-19 group, crossing in 1:37:18 at 7:25/mi. The 17-year-old from Collierville, Tennessee also closed well, posting the 8th-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-Finish leg and moving from 10th to 8th among women overall in the process. Reagan Edwards rounded out the podium in 1:46:11, finishing 3rd in the age group and 15th among women, also gaining a spot in the closing miles.

The battle for 4th was the tightest of the day in this group. Emma Haynes of Athens and Sydney Huffman of Harvest ran side by side for most of the race, and it showed at the line — Haynes edged Huffman by just six seconds after more than two hours of racing. Hope Sawyer and Addison Shelton rounded out the seven-finisher field, with Shelton completing her half marathon in 2:25:40 at 11:07/mi — a solid effort on a cool, breezy Huntsville morning.