F10-19 Ascent: Pema Franchi Antelme Dominates at 12

• Pema Franchi Antelme, age 12, won the F10-19 field in 30:37 (14:05/mi), finishing 5th among all women — a remarkable result against competitors up to seven years older.
• Abby Stone took 2nd in 35:09, more than four and a half minutes back, with the gap to 3rd place stretching a further nine minutes.
• Niki and Britta Johnson, both 17 from Carnelian Bay, finished 3rd and 4th separated by just 0.06 seconds — the closest finish of the day in this field.
• Natalie Hamby, age 12, rounded out the five-finisher field in 47:42, completing the climb at 6,298–7,964 ft of altitude on a breezy, dry afternoon.

The story of the F10-19 Ascent begins and ends with Pema Franchi Antelme. The 12-year-old from Cuenca, Ecuador clocked 30:37 up the Broken Arrow skyline — good for 5th among all women in the race — and posted the 7th-fastest women's split on the Snow King to finish segment. At an age when most kids are nowhere near a mountain skyrace start line, she ran 14:05 per mile up terrain that humbles far older athletes, particularly on a course sitting around 7,100 feet where the thin air adds a layer of invisible resistance.

Abby Stone ran a composed race to claim 2nd in 35:09, finishing 38th among the women. The gap to the podium's third step, however, was a chasm — nearly nine minutes — and that's where the afternoon's most dramatic moment unfolded. Niki and Britta Johnson, both 17 and both from Carnelian Bay, crossed the finish line in 44:05. Not the same 44:05 — Britta's official time was 44:05.29 to Niki's 44:05.23, a margin of six hundredths of a second after more than 44 minutes of climbing. Niki edged her counterpart for 3rd; Britta took 4th. Notably, Britta actually posted the slightly faster Snow King split (77th among women to Niki's 78th), meaning whatever margin existed at that checkpoint, Niki held enough of an edge to the line to matter — barely.

Natalie Hamby, also 12 and local to Truckee, closed out the field in 47:42. Racing on home terrain at altitude she likely knows well, she finished 98th among the women — a solid effort to complete a course that asks plenty of anyone willing to toe the line.