Rocket City 5K — Girls 14-and-Under: Debolt Dominates in a Sharp-Edged Field

• Harper Debolt wins in 24:42 — a 7:57/mi pace that put 18 seconds of clear air between her and 2nd place.
• Top three separated by just 2:24, but the podium gap to 4th was a full 4:45 — a decisive break in the field.
• Jhen Mena, age 7, and Marley Youngren, age 7, were among the youngest competitors in the F0-14 group, both finishing the full 5K.
• 21 finishers ranged from age 7 to 14, with times spanning 24:42 to well past the 55-minute mark.

Harper Debolt, 14, from Huntsville, set the tone from the gun and never let up, crossing in 24:42 at a crisp 7:57 per mile. Fellow 14-year-old Adaline McGuire of Madison gave chase and made it close — 25:00 at the line, just 18 seconds back. That margin is slim enough to keep the rivalry interesting, but Debolt held the edge throughout.

Third place went to 13-year-old Erica Sandlin, also from Huntsville, in 27:06 — a solid 8:43/mi effort. The real story in the standings is the cliff that followed: Micaiah Moldenhauer (31:51), Carson Jones (31:55), and Luci Hoki (31:59) formed a tight cluster for 4th through 6th, separated by just eight seconds across three runners. That trio raced each other hard all the way to the finish line.

Further back, the field told a different kind of story — one of sheer determination across a wide age range. Livia Mena, 10, and her 7-year-old sister Jhen Mena both completed the course, finishing 8th and 11th respectively. Baylor Bowen, age 9, came in 9th at 36:32. The youngest finishers in the listed results — Jhen Mena and Marley Youngren, both 7 — crossed in 37:48 and 51:07, which, at any age, is a genuine finish on a 5K course.

With 21 girls completing the race on a mild December morning in Huntsville, this was a field that mixed genuine competitive fire at the front with remarkable participation across the age range — and Debolt's 24:42 was the number that defined the day.