B.A.A. 10K Men: Garic Steals the Win in a Photo-Finish Thriller

• Garic and Senbeta both clocked 22:44 — separated by mere fractions of a second, with Garic's stronger closing segment making the difference.
• The decisive move came on the 5K→8K stretch, where Garic posted the fastest split of any man in the field on that segment, overtaking Senbeta (who had led through 5K) to claim the win.
• Jason Robinson finished 3rd in 26:18 (4:14/mi), a solid 3:34 back of the leaders.
• Delmace Mayo, 17, rounded out the men's field in 30:49 (4:58/mi) — the youngest finisher among the four men.

In a men's field of four on a sweltering Boston morning — 85°F, 64% humidity — it was James Senbeta who set the early tempo, holding the lead through the 5K checkpoint and into the race's middle miles. The Chicago native looked in full control, but Garic of Utica, NY had other plans.

The race turned on the 5K-to-8K segment. Garic ran the fastest split of any man on that stretch, reeling in Senbeta and seizing the lead he would not relinquish. Senbeta answered with the second-fastest split on that same segment — he was not fading so much as being outrun by a man who found another gear in the heat. When the two crossed the finish line, the clock read 22:44 for both — but Garic had crossed first, and timing confirmed it. The margin was a sliver, not a tie.

Jason Robinson, 20, of Rome, NY ran his own composed race from start to finish, holding 3rd place at every checkpoint and bringing it home in 26:18. Delmace Mayo, just 17 and racing in his hometown of Jamaica Plain, completed the men's field in 30:49 — a respectable 4:58/mi in conditions that made every mile a grind.

The headline, though, belongs to Garic and Senbeta: two runners, one time on the clock, and a closing surge that settled it.