M16-19 Half Marathon: Salazar Dominates as Kaua'i's Teens Take the Course

• Hezekiah Salazar (age 16, Kalaheo) won the M16-19 group in 1:47:59 — more than six minutes clear of runner-up Finlay Smith.
• Liam Juvan climbed from what would have been a distant position to claim 3rd, posting the 18th-fastest split in the field on the 11.05 Mile–to–Finish stretch to leapfrog Zevyn Nickel in the final miles.
• Noah Thielen and Kai Pineda (both 9:18/mi avg) finished 5th and 6th just three seconds apart after 13.1 miles of racing.
• The M16-19 field of 14 was heavily local — the majority hailing from Kaua'i — with only two finishers from the mainland.

Hezekiah Salazar, just 16 years old out of Kalaheo, made the M16-19 race his own from the start. Running at an 8:14/mi average through 77°F humidity and warm island air, he crossed in 1:47:59 — a margin that left no doubt. His pace through the middle segment (Start to 11.05 Mile) was steady enough, and he never relinquished control.

Behind him, the race for the podium was more turbulent. Finlay Smith (19, Kilauea) held 2nd cleanly at 1:54:15, but 3rd place was genuinely contested. Liam Juvan (16, Lihue) had work to do — he was well back through the first half — but he came alive on the 11.05 Mile–to–Finish leg with the 18th-fastest split in the entire field on that segment, surging past Zevyn Nickel to claim 3rd by just six seconds (1:57:14 to Nickel's 1:57:20). Nickel, who had run a stronger opening half, faded slightly as Juvan flew through the finish stretch.

The battle for 5th was the race's tightest finish. Noah Thielen and Kai Pineda — both Koloa locals, both averaging 9:18/mi — were separated by just three seconds after 13.1 miles. Three seconds. In a half marathon. That's a story worth telling at school on Tuesday.

Further back, the field spread considerably, with Cooper Bailin (19, Woodinville) completing the course in 4:25:58 — a reminder that finishing a half marathon in Hawaiian summer heat and humidity is its own achievement, regardless of the clock.