Girls Under-18: Spalekova edges Plotsky in a tight finish, Unangst completes the trio

• Simona Spalekova, age 11, won the under-18 girls race in 1:04:15 (10:20/mi), posting the 7th-fastest Skyline→Finish split among all women.
• Zoe Plotsky finished 2nd in 1:04:52 — just 37 seconds back — and recorded the 10th-fastest Skyline→Finish split among all women.
• Both Spalekova and Plotsky climbed from outside the top 20 among women to finish 12th and 13th among all women, respectively, by the final stretch.
• Althea Unangst, also age 11, rounded out the three-finisher field in 1:52:07, completing a rugged Fort Ord course at 18:03/mi.

Three girls toed the line at Fort Ord's 10K, and the top two made it a genuine race. Simona Spalekova, just 11 years old out of Santa Clara, crossed in 1:04:15 to take the win — a composed, steady effort at 10:20 per mile across trails that clearly demanded respect on a humid February morning. What made her performance notable wasn't just the finish time but the closing kick: her Skyline→Finish split ranked 7th among all women in the field, a strong move that helped her climb from 23rd to 12th among women by the tape.

Zoe Plotsky, 14, from Santa Cruz, stayed right on Spalekova's heels for most of the race and made the final stretch interesting. Her 10th-fastest Skyline→Finish split among all women was nearly as sharp, and the 37-second gap at the line reflects how closely matched these two were. Plotsky also moved well through the women's field late, finishing 13th among women after sitting 24th at an earlier checkpoint. On a different day, that margin could easily flip.

Althea Unangst, another 11-year-old — this one from Long Beach — ran her own race entirely. Finishing in 1:52:07 at 18:03/mi, she crossed the line nearly 48 minutes behind Plotsky, but completing a technical 10K trail course at age 11 is its own accomplishment. All three girls showed up and got it done on a windy, 85%-humidity morning at Fort Ord.