Men's Boilermaker 15K: Matata Seizes Control at the Midpoint and Never Looks Back

• Alex Matata wins in 42:24 — the fastest men's time at Utica since John Korir's course-record-threatening 42:11 in 2024, and a clear 29 seconds ahead of runner-up Kiprono Sitonik (42:53).
• The race turned at 5K→10K: Matata, Sitonik, and Adam Lipschitz posted the three fastest splits on that middle segment — and all three held their positions to the finish.
• Reid Buchanan (43:38) and Hillary Bor (43:40) separated by just two seconds at the line in a tight battle for 4th and 5th — both averaging 4:41/mi.
• 5,073 men finished in Utica's signature 15K, with Stephen Rathbun — the 2021 champion — returning to cross 20th in 48:11.

Alex Matata came to Utica and announced himself emphatically. The 28-year-old from Tampa entered the first 5K sitting 4th among the men, but by the 10K mark he had moved to the front — and stayed there. His winning time of 42:24 at a 4:33/mi average puts him in elite company on this course, bettering the past two editions won by John Korir (42:44 in 2025, 42:11 in 2024). The decisive move came on the 5K-to-10K segment, where Matata posted the fastest split of any man in the field. His Tampa training partner Kiprono Sitonik ran an almost identical arc — 5th to 2nd over that same stretch with the second-fastest middle segment — and held on for 42:53, 29 seconds back at the finish.

Adam Lipschitz completed a clean podium sweep of that critical middle segment, moving from 9th to 3rd between the 5K and 10K marks and finishing in 43:14 at 4:38/mi. Behind him, Reid Buchanan (43:38) and Hillary Bor (43:40) waged the afternoon's tightest personal duel: Buchanan, 36 years old from Colorado Springs, edged Bor by just two seconds after both ran the final stretch at 4:41/mi. Victor Shitsama (44:02) and Futsum Zienasellassie (44:32) rounded out a competitive top seven, all finishing under 4:48/mi.

Further down the men's field, a few names added their own texture to the day. Local runner Sam Lawler of Syracuse crossed 9th in 44:54, while former champion Stephen Rathbun — who won the pandemic-delayed 2021 edition in 47:32 — returned to finish 20th in 48:11, a full 5:39 behind Matata but still well inside the top half of a 5,073-man field. The depth on display across the board confirmed that Utica continues to draw one of the strongest open road-racing fields in the Northeast.