M20-24: Kaplelach dominates, Blankenhorn holds off a hard-charging Holcomb

• Azariah Kaplelach won M20-24 in 1:21:58 (6:15/mi), posting the 3rd-fastest 10K→Finish split among the men and climbing from 5th to 3rd in the men's field over the second half.
• Justin Blankenhorn finished 2nd in 1:38:40, a gap of 16:42 back — and delivered the 10th-fastest 10K→Finish split among the men to hold off Jake Holcomb.
• Jake Holcomb (3rd, 1:46:09) posted the 18th-fastest 10K→Finish split among the men, edging clear of Ethan Davis by nearly 4:30.
• William Darden and Alex Dombrowski both clocked 2:07:50, with Darden edging 7th by the narrowest of margins over Dombrowski in 8th.

Azariah Kaplelach made this one look straightforward. The 24-year-old from Birmingham ran 6:15 per mile through warm, windy conditions — 70°F, 17 mph winds, and 76% humidity are not a recipe for fast half marathons — and his 3rd-fastest 10K→Finish split among the men tells you he was accelerating when others were fading. He moved from 5th to 3rd in the men's field across the back half, a clear sign the race was going exactly to plan.

Behind him, Justin Blankenhorn kept his composure over the closing stretch. His 10th-fastest 10K→Finish split among the men was enough to stay clear of Jake Holcomb, who was himself moving well — 18th-fastest on that same segment — and finished 3rd in 1:46:09. Ethan Davis ran a solid 4th in 1:50:35, while Bailey Patton was the story of the top five on the back half, posting the 32nd-fastest 10K→Finish split among the men and climbing from 57th to 41st in the men's field to claim 5th in M20-24.

The battle for 7th was the closest finish of the day in this group. Darden and Dombrowski both stopped the clock at 2:07:50, with Darden taking 7th by a hair. At the back, Tate Bell and Isaac Carlisle — the two youngest finishers in the group at 20 and 22 — crossed in 2:37:42 and 2:39:28 respectively, completing all 11 M20-24 starters on a tough weather day.