F19 & Under Half Marathon: Emma Thiara Storms Through the Back Half to Take the Title

• Emma Thiara, 15, wins in 1:39:30 (7:35/mi), posting the 18th-fastest second-half women's split in the field to surge from deep in the women's standings to the top of the F19 & Under field.
• Danielle Huizar runs the fastest early miles, clocking the 51st-fastest women's split on the 1.40M→2.13M segment and holding 2nd in 1:42:56 — 3:26 back of Thiara at the line.
• Jessica Tsai's 45th-fastest first-half women's split earns her 3rd in 1:44:04, with Ryann Dougherty (4th, 1:45:32) and 14-year-old Amelia Hamblin (5th, 1:49:51) rounding out a tight top five.
• 65 finishers completed the F19 & Under race; the top 20 were separated by just under 25 minutes, with six athletes breaking 1:50.

Emma Thiara's win was built on patience and a punishing second half. The 15-year-old from Yuba City was sitting 111th among all women at the opening checkpoint — deep in the pack — but she kept climbing steadily through the middle miles, moving to 76th, then 32nd, and ultimately finishing 24th among all women. Her 7:35/mi average tells the story of a runner who ran within herself early and then delivered when it mattered, posting the 18th-fastest second-half women's split in the entire field to seal the F19 & Under title by 3:26.

Danielle Huizar, 19, from Yorba Linda, was the early mover, sitting as high as 26th among women through the opening miles and logging a sharp 51st-fastest women's split on the 1.40M–2.13M segment. But the second half proved harder to hold, and she crossed in 1:42:56 for a clear runner-up finish. Jessica Tsai, 16, from Pleasanton, ran a measured race from the front of the women's field, her 45th-fastest first-half women's split laying the groundwork for a 1:44:04 and third place.

The battle for fourth and fifth was its own subplot. Ryann Dougherty, 19, from San Rafael, climbed steadily through the women's standings all race long, finishing 4th in 1:45:32 with the 62nd-fastest second-half women's split. Amelia Hamblin, just 14 years old and traveling from Commerce Township, Michigan, started 224th among women but surged late — posting the 91st-fastest women's split on the final stretch — to claim 5th in 1:49:51, edging Alexandra Wong (6th, 1:49:58) by seven seconds.