Shamrock'n 5K M16-18: Emil Lev-Twombly Runs Away With It

• Emil Lev-Twombly won the M16-18 group in 17:10 (5:32/mi) — nearly 1 minute 47 seconds clear of 2nd place.
• Aidan Bender claimed 2nd in 18:57 (6:06/mi), with Brian Hanks rounding out the podium in 20:57 (6:45/mi) — a full 2 minutes back.
• Places 17 and 18 were separated by just 0.39 seconds — Marco Lopez edging Ishrael Galera, both clocking 33:29 on the display.
• 26 finishers from across the Sacramento region, ranging from Lincoln to Auburn to Chico, made up the M16-18 field.

Emil Lev-Twombly didn't just win the M16-18 age group at the Shamrock'n 5K — he dominated it. The 18-year-old from Carmichael crossed in 17:10, running 5:32 per mile on a cool, clear March morning in West Sacramento. That margin of 1:47 over runner-up Aidan Bender wasn't a close race; it was a statement. While the rest of the field was still finding their rhythm, Lev-Twombly was already in a different race.

Bender, 17, from Sacramento, held a solid 2nd in 18:57, running 6:06/mi — a genuinely strong effort that simply had no answer for the leader. Behind him, 16-year-old Brian Hanks made the trip from Lincoln worth it, locking down 3rd in 20:57. The gap from 3rd to 4th then ballooned considerably: Darren Cooke came home 4th in 25:17, meaning the top three were in a tier entirely their own.

The race's most dramatic moment may have come near the back of the listed finishers. Marco Lopez and Ishrael Galera — both 17, both from Sacramento — crossed in a near-identical 33:29, but the timing system separated them by just 0.39 seconds, Lopez taking 17th and Galera 18th. That's the kind of finish that has you craning for the clock.