Rocket City Half Marathon F15-19: Lekai Surges Late to Claim the Title

• Allison Lekai, 1:27:51 (6:42/mi): won the F15-19 age group and climbed from 7th to 4th among all women on the back half — posting the 3rd-fastest women's split from 6.8M to the finish.
• Cadence Rivera held steady in 2nd (1:30:26, 6:54/mi), a 2:35 gap back — solid enough to hold 8th among all women wire to wire.
• Frances Overton closed the hardest of the top three, jumping from 23rd to 17th among women on the second half to secure 3rd in 1:37:44.
• 15-year-olds on the board: Ellie Gehri (1:48:20) and Jenna Beth Redmond (1:50:54) both cracked the top six despite being the youngest in the field.

In 29°F air with a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville, Allison Lekai of Brentwood, TN ran a composed first half before turning the screws. Her move from 7th to 4th among all women over the final 6.8 miles — backed by the 3rd-fastest women's split on that stretch — tells the story cleanly: she was saving something, and she spent it at exactly the right moment. The 1:27:51 winning time at 6:42 per mile is a commanding margin in this group.

Cadence Rivera of Haleyville, AL was the picture of consistency — 8th among women at the midpoint, 8th at the line — finishing in 1:30:26 for a clear runner-up. Frances Overton of Birmingham made the most aggressive move of the podium, climbing six places among women in the second half to land 3rd in 1:37:44. Emma Haynes (1:43:59) rounded out a four-woman lead pack that separated itself well clear of the rest.

The real subplot belonged to the 15-year-olds. Ellie Gehri of Oneonta jumped from 54th to 39th among all women over the closing miles — the 31st-fastest women's split on that segment — to finish 5th in the age group at 1:48:20. Jenna Beth Redmond of Guntersville was right behind her in 6th at 1:50:54. Thirty-eight girls finished on a genuinely cold December morning in Alabama; the top two alone broke 1:31, and the depth held all the way through.