M35-39: Bulyenov Edges Out a Sub-36 Podium at the San Francisco 10K

• Anton Bulyenov wins in 35:30 (5:43/mi), holding off David Rogawski (35:43) and Huacheng Yu (35:50) in a tight three-way podium separated by just 20 seconds.
• All three podium finishers cracked 36 minutes on a cool, humid San Francisco morning — with the 4th-place finisher, Joel Triplett, finishing in 38:30, more than 2:40 back.
• Huacheng Yu's closing kick: Yu ran the 7th-fastest final-segment split among the men's field on the 4.62M→Finish stretch, moving from 10th to 9th in the men's standings to claim the final podium spot.
• Yasser Stephens posted the 20th-fastest closing split among the men, gaining three places in the final stretch to finish 5th in 38:52.

Anton Bulyenov of South San Francisco took the M35-39 title in 35:30, running 5:43/mi through the city's overcast, humid conditions to win by 13 seconds over David Rogawski (35:43, 5:45/mi). Rogawski held his position throughout — sitting 8th among the men at the midpoint checkpoint and finishing 8th — while Bulyenov was equally steady, locked into 7th in the men's field from start to finish. The win was a matter of pace, not position changes: Bulyenov simply ran faster, and Rogawski never quite closed the gap.

Huacheng Yu made the podium the hard way. The Princeton runner sat 10th among the men through 4.62 miles before unleashing the 7th-fastest closing split in the men's field, overtaking one competitor in the final stretch to land 3rd in M35-39 at 35:50. It was a decisive move that kept the podium tight — all three men separated by 20 seconds — while Joel Triplett, 4th in 38:30, was never in contention for that third spot.

Further back, Yasser Stephens (38:52) was the field's most notable closer outside the top four, picking up three places with the 20th-fastest final-segment split to finish 5th. The rest of the top 20 ranged from Slater Stich's 40:18 in 6th to Joseph Woodworth's 45:53 in 20th, across a 273-finisher M35-39 field that made this one of the day's most competitive age brackets on the course.