Rocket City 5K: Megan Light rules the F30-34 age group

• Megan Light won the F30-34 age group in 23:52 (7:41/mi), finishing nearly a minute clear of the field.
• Amanda Steinmetz was the closest challenger, crossing in 24:42 — a 50-second gap back to 2nd.
• Places 4 through 7 were tightly bunched, with just 59 seconds separating Kaylyn Bearb (30:21) from Judy Slagle (31:20).
• Crimson Debonis recorded a time of 9:35:55 — a clear data anomaly in an otherwise sub-42-minute group.

Megan Light from Arab, AL, made the F30-34 race look straightforward from the start. Her 7:41/mi pace held firm across the 5K and produced a winning margin of 50 seconds over Amanda Steinmetz of Huntsville. Steinmetz ran a composed 7:57/mi to lock up 2nd, but the gap to Light was never really in doubt. The top two finished in a different tier entirely — nearly five minutes ahead of 3rd place.

Emily Louise Able of New York claimed 3rd in 29:25, and from there the real racing drama unfolded. Kaylyn Bearb (30:21), Kelsey Kemp (30:47), Whitney Oroz (30:55), and Judy Slagle (31:20) formed a tight cluster through the middle of the leaderboard — four runners separated by under a minute across places 4 through 7. Brandy Bunn, Angela Croushorn, and Emily Satterfield were similarly packed just behind, all finishing within five seconds of each other around the 32-minute mark.

One result stands apart: Crimson Debonis is listed 12th with a time of 9:35:55 — far outside the range of every other finisher and almost certainly reflecting a timing or data issue rather than a race performance. The 24-finisher F30-34 field was otherwise a well-spread, competitive group, with Light's 23:52 setting a high bar on a mild December morning in Huntsville.