Cleveland Marathon 5K — F15-19: Bartish Dominates with a Sub-26 Finish

• Sarah Bartish, 17, ran 25:16 (8:08/mi) — more than 2 minutes 19 seconds clear of 2nd place, the widest margin on the F15-19 podium.
• Charli Linden (27:35) and Skylar Duval-Lewis (28:44) were separated by 1:09, with 19-year-old Duval-Lewis holding off a tight chase from 15-year-old Frieda Steomann (30:12) for the final podium spot.
• Places 11 and 12 went down to the second: Kaydyn Zadow and Abby Hannum — both from Hudson, OH — both clocked 35:0x, with Zadow edging Hannum by a single second for 11th.
• 26 finishers completed the F15-19 race in conditions that tested everyone: 67°F with 83% humidity and a 15 mph wind off Cleveland's lakefront.

Sarah Bartish made this race look straightforward, though the conditions were anything but. Running 8:08 per mile on a humid, breezy morning in Cleveland, the 17-year-old from Amherst put more than two minutes between herself and the rest of the F15-19 field — a gap that speaks less to a close race than to a runner who was simply operating at a different level.

Behind her, the podium battle had some genuine tension. Charli Linden, 15, crossed in 27:35 to claim 2nd, but Skylar Duval-Lewis of Chardon was only 1:09 back at 28:44. Duval-Lewis, the oldest finisher on the podium at 19, kept Frieda Steomann (30:12) and Maddy Olderman (30:48) — both 15 — at arm's length through the finish.

The most dramatic moment of the race may have been the battle for 11th. Hudson teammates Kaydyn Zadow and Abby Hannum ran the entire 5K together, finishing in 35:02 and 35:03 respectively — one second apart after 3.1 miles of racing in the same uniform. Further back, Samia Jamal (49:52) and Jeneen Jamal (49:54) of Middleburg Heights finished 18th and 19th, just two seconds separating them across the line.

With humidity pressing down at 83% and the wind adding another layer of difficulty, every finisher earned their time. Bartish just happened to earn hers faster than anyone else in the F15-19 field by a very comfortable margin.