Boilermaker 5K F15-19: Simpson Dominates with a 51-Second Improvement

• Keelyn Simpson, 17, wins in 20:52 (6:43/mi) — 51 seconds faster than her 7th-place finish here in 2024 (21:43), the sharpest year-over-year jump in the field.
• Alex French, 16, runs 21:30 (6:55/mi) to claim second, 38 seconds back of Simpson but 24 seconds clear of third.
• Tatiyana Fosu and Ella Dischiavo separated by two seconds — 21:54 and 21:56 — for third and fourth in a field of 177.
• Jasmin Gonzalez-Rivera finishes 5th in 22:01, but her 2024 result (5th in 21:17) tells a different story: she was faster a year ago and couldn't match that time on this humid morning.

Keelyn Simpson of Utica ran away with the F15-19 race in a way the numbers make impossible to ignore. Her 20:52 at 6:43/mi wasn't just a win — it was a 51-second improvement over the 21:43 she ran on this same course in 2024, when she finished 7th among the women. That kind of jump, at 17, on a 75°F morning with 90% humidity pressing down on the field, is the headline performance of the day in this group.

Alex French of New Hartford gave chase and earned a strong second with her 21:30 (6:55/mi), but Simpson's pace was a different gear entirely — a 12-second-per-mile gap separated them. French, at 16, still has every reason to circle this race on her calendar for next year. Behind her, Tatiyana Fosu (21:54, 7:03/mi) and Ella Dischiavo (21:56, 7:04/mi) staged the tightest battle of the podium, separated by just two seconds for third and fourth.

The returning-runner storylines added texture to the race. Jasmin Gonzalez-Rivera, who ran 21:17 here in 2024 for 5th among the women, crossed 5th again in 2025 — but in 22:01, 44 seconds slower on the day. Kylie Murray (6th, 22:21) was also 13 seconds off her 2024 time of 22:08. Meanwhile, Mia Rugari (8th, 23:56) came back from a 21:47 in 2024 — a significant gap that likely reflects the tough conditions more than anything else. The humidity was no friend to anyone chasing last year's marks.

Annette Labarbera, 15, rounded out the top seven in 23:10 (7:27/mi), the youngest athlete in the top group and one to watch as she moves through the F15-19 ranks in coming years.