Cleveland Marathon 5K — Girls 14 & Under: Westerman Runs Away With It

• Bryn Westerman, age 13, won the F0-14 age group in 19:07 (6:09/mi) — more than five minutes clear of the field.
• Belle Carlson and Eleanor Dawson, both age 10, battled for the runner-up spot: Carlson took 2nd in 24:31, with Dawson just 11 seconds back in 3rd at 24:42.
• Lucy Pree and Natalia Turner rounded out the top five, separated by 42 seconds (26:20 and 27:02), with Turner the second Cleveland local in the top five.
• Eden Wolf, age 8, was the youngest finisher in the listed results, crossing in 34:20 — and notably, her Solon neighbor Ayla Wolf (age 10) finished 9th at 30:28.

Seventy girls 14 and under toed the line in Cleveland on a humid, breezy Sunday — 67°F with 83% humidity and a 15 mph wind that made every mile feel a little harder than the numbers suggest. None of that seemed to bother Bryn Westerman. The 13-year-old from Murrysville, PA ran 6:09 per mile from start to finish, crossing in 19:07 and leaving the rest of the age group to race for second place. Her margin of victory — 5 minutes and 24 seconds — wasn't a close call; it was a statement.

Behind Westerman, the real racing happened between Belle Carlson and Eleanor Dawson, a pair of 10-year-olds who pushed each other all the way to the line. Carlson, from Gates Mills, edged Dawson of Rocky River by 11 seconds — 24:31 to 24:42 — a genuinely tight finish for two athletes who had no business being this competitive at that age. Lucy Pree (14, Berea) and Natalia Turner (13, Cleveland) kept it honest further back, with Turner running 8:42 per mile to close out the top five.

The depth of the age group was on full display beyond the top ten as well. Nine-year-olds Nora Callard and Skylar Sparks both cracked the top 12, and eight-year-old Eden Wolf finished 15th overall in the group — a reminder that in the F0-14 field, the youngest runners are out there competing, not just participating.