Men's Boilermaker 15K: Matata Storms to Victory in Utica

• Alex Matata wins in 42:24 (4:33/mi), the fastest men's time at the Boilermaker since the course record of 42:06 set in 2023 — and 20 seconds clear of runner-up Kiprono Sitonik's 42:53.
• Podium sweep for the 5K→10K surge: Matata, Sitonik, and Adam Lipschitz posted the three fastest splits on that middle segment in the entire men's field — the race was effectively decided in that stretch.
• Hillary Bor holds on for 5th at 43:40, edging Reid Buchanan (4th, 43:38) by just two seconds — the tightest gap on the podium — after posting the 4th-fastest 10K→Finish split among the men.
• 5,073 men finished on a cool, humid July morning in Utica; Stephen Rathbun, the 2021 men's champion, returned to cross 20th in 48:11.

Alex Matata of Tampa came to Utica and delivered. His 42:24 — averaging 4:33 per mile over 9.3 miles of Utica roads — is the fastest men's winning time here since John Korir's back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025, and it falls within 18 seconds of Jemal Yimer's 2023 course record. The race data tells a clean story: Matata was buried in the pack through the opening 5K, sitting around 148th among men, then detonated on the 5K-to-10K segment with the fastest split in the entire men's field on that stretch. He hit the front and never let go.

Teammate Kiprono Sitonik, also of Tampa, matched that blueprint almost exactly — 2nd-fastest on the middle segment, 2nd place overall in 42:53. Adam Lipschitz (3rd, 43:14) completed what amounts to a clean sweep of the race's pivotal segment, running the 3rd-fastest 5K→10K split to claim the final podium spot. The gap from Matata to Lipschitz was 50 seconds; the gap from Lipschitz to 4th-place Reid Buchanan (43:38) was another 24 — the top three had genuinely separated themselves.

The fight for 4th and 5th was the race's best late drama. Buchanan came home in 43:38 at 4:41/mi, but Hillary Bor of Colorado Springs — a steeplechase specialist racing at 36 — answered with the 4th-fastest closing segment in the men's field and crossed in 43:40, just two seconds back. Further down, Victor Shitsama (6th, 44:02) and Futsum Zienasellassie (7th, 44:32) led a strong chase pack, while local favorite Sam Lawler of Syracuse ran 9th in 44:54 on home roads. And somewhere in a field of 5,073, 2021 champion Stephen Rathbun quietly logged 20th in 48:11 — a reminder of how deep this race runs.