M15-19: Jack Gallegly Wins a Frigid Rocket City Marathon in 3:06:05

• Jack Gallegly (18, Dalton, GA) took the M15-19 title in 3:06:05 — a 7:06/mi average — nearly 7:13 clear of runner-up Alex Tunnell.
• Jude Finch (16, Hopkinsville, KY) was the youngest finisher in the top five, placing 5th in 3:27:31 despite a notable fade in the second half.
• Jackson Bradley and Sullivan Kelly (both 17, Spring Hill and Franklin, TN) finished 9th and 10th in 3:51:30 and 3:51:34 — just four seconds apart across 26.2 miles.
• Twenty finishers are listed across a 22-strong M15-19 group, with finish times ranging from 3:06:05 to beyond 5:18:57 — a wide spread that reflects the diversity of experience in teen marathon running.

With temperatures locked at 29°F and a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville, the M15-19 group lined up for a genuinely demanding December marathon. Jack Gallegly handled the cold better than anyone in the group. Running at 7:06 per mile, he steadily worked his way through the men's field — moving from 120th among the men at the 10K mark all the way up to 74th by the finish — and his closing leg was sharp enough to post the 44th-fastest split on the 20M-to-finish stretch among the women's field, a benchmark that underscores just how strong that final push was. He crossed in 3:06:05, and no one in M15-19 came close.

Alex Tunnell (18, Macon, GA) was the early aggressor. He ran his 10K-to-half split fast enough to rank 53rd on that segment among the women's field, and at the halfway mark he sat 53rd in the men's race — a strong position. But the second half told a different story: he slipped from 53rd to 102nd among the men by the finish, eventually clocking 3:13:18. Charlie Whitmire (19, Charlotte, NC) was more measured — steadily climbing from 146th to 119th in the men's field across the race — and his consistency earned him 3rd in M15-19 in 3:17:54.

Hector Gonsalez (18, Albertville, AL) and Jude Finch (16, Hopkinsville, KY) rounded out the top five, but with contrasting arcs. Gonsalez held relatively steady through the middle miles before drifting back slightly late, finishing in 3:22:11. Finch, meanwhile, was flying early — 74th among the men at the 10K mark — but faded to 166th by the finish, crossing in 3:27:31. Still, at 16, he's the youngest in the top five and the effort alone is worth noting. Down the field, the near-dead-heat between Jackson Bradley and Sullivan Kelly — four seconds apart after more than three and a half hours of racing — was one of the quiet dramas of the day.