M16-18: Emil Lev-Twombly Dominates the Teen Boys

• Emil Lev-Twombly won the M16-18 age group in 16:32 (5:20/mi), finishing more than two minutes ahead of runner-up Aidan Bender.
• Aidan Bender (18:43) ran the 3rd-fastest final-kilometer split in the men's field on the 3M→Finish stretch, closing strongly to secure 2nd.
• Evan Podwalny rounded out the podium in 20:29, holding off Alexander Pope by over six minutes.
• The field of 11 spanned nearly 46 minutes from first to last — a wide range that underscores just how dominant the top three were.

Emil Lev-Twombly made his intentions clear from the opening mile. Running at 5:20/mi through Sacramento's Memorial Day morning conditions — 68°F with a 14 mph breeze — he steadily picked off competitors in the men's field, moving from 10th among men at the first checkpoint all the way to 7th by the finish line. His 6th-fastest split among men on the 2M-to-3M segment shows he didn't coast once he'd built his lead; he kept pressing all the way home. The winning margin of 2:11 over Bender was decisive.

Aidan Bender's race told a different story. He slipped back through the men's field in the middle miles — dropping from 22nd to 32nd — before a strong closing leg brought him back to 30th. That final push was no illusion: his 3rd-fastest men's split on the 3M→Finish stretch was one of the sharpest finishes in the entire men's race, and it was enough to lock up 2nd in M16-18 by a comfortable two-minute margin over Podwalny.

Evan Podwalny (20:29, 6:36/mi) ran a consistent race to claim 3rd, while Alexander Pope and Coen Mendoza filled 4th and 5th in 26:54 and 28:28 respectively. Brody Miller (28:47) was just 19 seconds behind Mendoza at 6th. Further back, Wills Crouch and Junior Rios were separated by only 38 seconds, and the two Nichols runners — William (45:41) and Spenser (45:52) — finished just 11 seconds apart in 9th and 10th. Johnny Nari crossed in 1:02:48 to complete the M16-18 field.