Boilermaker 15K F25-29: Chelangat Defends, Rebitu Pushes Her All the Way

• Jesca Chelangat wins in 49:37 (5:19/mi) — defending her 2023 Boilermaker title and reclaiming the women's lead by the 5K mark.
• Bontu Rebitu finishes 2nd in 50:11, posting the 7th-fastest women's 5K→10K split to hold off the rest of the field by a wide margin.
• Annie Heffernan and Gabrielle Orie separated by just 7 seconds (52:28 vs. 52:35) for 4th and 5th, with Heffernan running the 11th-fastest women's 10K→finish split to edge ahead.
• 499 finishers in the F25-29 field, the largest single-age-band cohort in the race.

Jesca Chelangat came to Utica with a title to defend — she won this race in 2023 in 47:33, setting the women's course record — and she made her move early. Starting the 5K→10K segment ranked 18th among women, she surged to the front of the women's race and never fully relinquished it, clocking the 2nd-fastest women's split on that middle stretch. Her 49:37 finish is slower than her record-setting 2023 effort, but on a humid July morning in Utica, it was more than enough to take the win.

Bontu Rebitu was the closest challenger, finishing in 50:11 at 5:23/mi and running the 7th-fastest women's 5K→10K split in the field. She moved from 23rd among women at 5K all the way to 5th by 10K, a surge that put her squarely in contention — but Chelangat had already opened a gap that Rebitu couldn't close over the final 5K. Sarah Naibei rounded out the F25-29 podium in 51:55 (5:34/mi), finishing 11th among women overall and running the 10th-fastest women's middle split.

The battle for 4th and 5th was the sharpest of the day within this group. Annie Heffernan, who sat 48th among women at 5K, ran the 11th-fastest women's 10K→finish split to storm through the back half and finish in 52:28. Gabrielle Orie had been tracking her closely all race — 45th among women at 5K, 12th by 10K — and crossed in 52:35, just seven seconds behind. Paige Wood closed out the top six in 53:16 (5:43/mi). After that, a meaningful gap separated the front six from the rest of the field, with Stephanie Webster in 7th clocking 1:00:15 — nearly seven minutes back of Wood.