M0-14: Rhys Overton Runs Away from a 78-Kid Field in Cleveland

• Rhys Overton, 14, wins in 21:05 — a 6:47/mi clip that put nearly 1:44 of daylight between him and runner-up Dean Alnadi.
• Tight battle for 3rd through 5th: Andrew Pree (23:27), Jack Bixler (24:07), and Nolan Brister (26:02) were separated by just over 2.5 minutes across three spots.
• Nine-year-old Miles Witten finished 9th in 28:05 — one of the youngest in the group and holding a 9:02/mi pace through 67°F humidity.
• The Carlson brothers of Gates Mills — Ander (12) and Beckett (7) — crossed in identical 29:52 finishes, landing 20th and 19th respectively by the timing wire.

Rhys Overton made this one look controlled from the start. His 6:47/mi average was nearly 34 seconds per mile faster than second-place Dean Alnadi's 7:21 clip, and by the finish line that gap had grown to a commanding 1:44. On a humid May morning with a 15 mph wind working against everyone, that kind of separation in a 5K is no small thing.

Behind Overton, the real racing was happening in a tight cluster. Alnadi (22:49) and Andrew Pree (23:27) were separated by 38 seconds for 2nd and 3rd, while Jack Bixler at 24:07 was close enough to keep things interesting through the back half. Nolan Brister rounded out the top five at 26:02, with a group of 13- and 14-year-olds then bunching up through the teens — six finishers between 29:14 and 29:19, a span of just five seconds across six runners.

The youngest standout of the day was Miles Witten, just 9 years old out of Avon Lake, who held a 9:02/mi pace to finish 9th among 78 kids. And then there's the story at 19th and 20th: Beckett Carlson (age 7) and Ander Carlson (age 12) both clocked 29:52, finishing within a heartbeat of each other — the timing system needed the wire to separate them, giving Beckett the edge by the slimmest of margins.