Boys U-14: Ketch Skaggs Wins at 11, Outrunning a Field of 13-Year-Olds

• Ketch Skaggs, age 11, took the Boys U-14 title in 38:27 (8:25/mi), finishing 25 seconds clear of runner-up Ari Eberly.
• The top five were separated by just 2:21 across 4.6 miles of high-altitude trail — a tight, competitive front pack.
• Owen Vaughan and Syrus Hansen crossed in the same displayed time of 47:26 for 9th and 10th, separated by just 0.17 seconds.
• Tarn Lynch, age 10, finished 15th in 54:40 — the youngest in the field, running every bit of this 6,200–7,500 ft course.

Thirty-three boys took on the Broken Arrow 4.6-miler under a mild, overcast morning in Olympic Valley — comfortable on paper, but the course climbs into air thin enough to humble legs that feel fresh at the start. The winner made it look effortless: Ketch Skaggs, just 11 years old and racing out of Glenwood, New Mexico, crossed in 38:27 at an 8:25/mi clip to claim the Boys U-14 title outright. He beat a field composed almost entirely of 13-year-olds — the oldest age eligible — by 25 seconds. That's not a lucky gap; that's a statement.

Ari Eberly (Gunnison, CO) gave chase and earned 2nd in 38:52, with Benjamin Castellanos (La Verne, CA) rounding out the podium in 39:56. Mark Batres and Sean Daane were close behind in 4th and 5th, finishing within nine seconds of each other at 40:39 and 40:48 respectively. Brothers Mark and Nico Batres both represented Montclair, CA — Mark in 4th, Nico in 7th at 44:00, a solid showing for the family from the same town.

Further back, the race delivered one of the day's sharpest finishes: Owen Vaughan and Syrus Hansen — both 13, both running 10:23/mi average — crossed in 47:26 for 9th and 10th, with just 0.17 seconds between them after nearly half an hour of racing. And a special mention belongs to Tarn Lynch of Tahoe City, who at age 10 navigated the full course to finish 15th in 54:40 — the youngest competitor in the field, running at altitude on a day when plenty of older kids found the going tough.