M30-34: Ridder Runs Away With It in West Sacramento

• Thomas Ridder won the M30-34 age group in 35:47 (5:46/mi), more than 7 minutes clear of second place.
• Ryan Melendez took second in 43:08 (6:57/mi), posting the 17th-fastest second-half split among the men — a stronger close than his opening 5K suggested.
• Jose Lopez (47:20, 7:37/mi) and Cj Abella (47:22, 7:37/mi) finished 4th and 5th just two seconds apart, with Lopez holding the edge after Abella ran the faster back half.
• Erick Acosta (12th, 50:43) and David Stutzman (13th, 50:43) crossed in the same displayed time — but the clock settled it, with Acosta edging Stutzman by 0.14 seconds.

Thomas Ridder made this one look easy. The 30-year-old from Roseville went out at 5:46/mi and never looked back, finishing in 35:47 to win the M30-34 age group by a margin that wasn't close to closing. His second-half split ranked 5th-fastest among the men on that stretch — meaning he wasn't just fast early, he was still moving through the field deep into the race.

Ryan Melendez claimed second in 43:08, running 6:57/mi and picking up places over the back half — moving from 19th to 18th among the men after the 5K mark. It wasn't a dramatic surge, but it was a steady, controlled finish. Diego Perez rounded out the podium in 46:41 (7:31/mi), though he faded on the second half, slipping from 25th to 36th among the men after the midpoint.

The real drama in the closing spots came at 4th and 5th, where Jose Lopez and Cj Abella ran nearly identical races — Lopez in 47:20, Abella in 47:22. Both averaged 7:37/mi, but the two seconds separating them tell a nuanced story: Abella ran the faster back half (41st-fastest men's split on that segment vs. Lopez's 39th), catching up ground but not quite enough. Lopez had built just enough of a cushion to hold on.

A field of 100 M30-34 finishers spread across a wide range of efforts, with the top 20 alone spanning from 35:47 to 53:47. Zane Jackson rounded out that group in 20th at 53:47 (8:39/mi), capping a competitive morning in West Sacramento.