Non-Binary 3.5K Ascent: Montgomery leads wire to wire at Tahoe

• Ryan Montgomery (Hanover, NH) won the non-binary field in 29:40 — a 13:39/mi average up a course that climbs between 6,298 and 7,964 feet.
• David Eik (San Francisco, CA) was 1:09 back in 2nd, finishing in 30:49 — the closest gap on the podium.
• Andrew Catanese (Berkeley, CA) rounded out the podium in 32:49, a further 2:00 behind Eik.
• The field of five spanned 32:52 from first to fifth, with the final two finishers — Casey Wei (48:48) and Ra Criscitiello (1:02:32) — each completing the ascent on their own terms.

Ryan Montgomery never relinquished the lead. Holding 1st from start to finish, Montgomery covered the Snow King→Finish segment faster than anyone else in the non-binary field, capping a wire-to-wire performance in 29:40. At nearly 8,000 feet, where the air is noticeably thinner, that kind of sustained effort over a 2.17-mile ascent is no small thing — particularly for anyone not acclimatized to the Sierra Nevada altitude.

The real drama at the front was the gap between Montgomery and Eik. Just 69 seconds separated 1st and 2nd, and Eik backed it up with the second-fastest Snow King→Finish split in the group — meaning both athletes were pushing hard all the way to the line. Catanese slotted in cleanly in 3rd, running a composed race and holding position throughout.

Casey Wei (4th, 48:48) and Ra Criscitiello (5th, 1:02:32) completed the field, with Criscitiello — at 44 the oldest finisher — crossing in just over an hour. The 14-minute gap between 4th and 5th reflects the genuine physical challenge of this course: a relentless ascent at elevation, on a breezy, dry Tahoe afternoon that offered little mercy.