Two Cities Marathon 5K — F30-34: Nijjar dominates in Fresno heat

• Simmi Nijjar won the F30-34 age group in 27:17 (8:47/mi) — more than two minutes clear of second place.
• Sabrina Moreno and Katelyn Nocito were separated by just 20 seconds in a tight battle for the podium's final two spots (29:19 vs. 29:39).
• Taylor Millard and Yaritza Cassandra Sanchez finished 5th and 6th just two seconds apart — 31:06 to 31:08 — in another close duel deep in the top ten.
• Julia Uppal and Navjeet Uppal crossed the line in identical times of 34:40 (11:09/mi), sharing 15th and 16th place.

Simmi Nijjar made the F30-34 race her own from the start. Running 8:47 per mile on a warm November morning — 74°F and clear in Fresno — the Selma native finished in 27:17 and never looked seriously threatened. Her two-minute-plus margin over the rest of the field was the defining story of the age group.

Behind her, Sabrina Moreno of Tulare earned second in 29:19, holding off Clovis's Katelyn Nocito, who crossed in 29:39. Those 20 seconds between them made for the most compelling chase of the day, with Fresno's Lauren Schneider another 57 seconds back in fourth at 30:36. The top four were well clear of the rest of the field before the pack began to tighten again.

Further down the results, the racing stayed genuinely close. Taylor Millard and Yaritza Cassandra Sanchez — both from Fresno — ran virtually side by side to the line, separated by just two seconds at 31:06 and 31:08. Then, in one of the day's more striking coincidences, Julia Uppal and Navjeet Uppal — both age 33 from Fresno — recorded identical times of 34:40, finishing 15th and 16th respectively.

Across 74 finishers in the F30-34 age group, the spread from Nijjar's winning 27:17 down through the field told a full story of competitive depth — from a dominant front-runner to a series of tight duels that kept the race interesting well beyond the podium.