F25-29: Alsup Dominates from Wire to Wire in Fresno

• Courtney Alsup, 1:23:00 (6:20/mi) — won the F25-29 age group and led the women's field from start to finish.
• Annechiena Knevelbaard, 1:28:23 (6:45/mi) — runner-up in the age group, 5:23 back, and posted the 2nd-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-Finish stretch.
• Breton Cameron (1:43:01) and Zuyuan Huang (1:44:18) — separated by just 1:17 at 3rd and 4th, both moving up in the women's field over the back half.
• Carissa Celum, 1:47:47 — climbed five spots among women in the 10K-to-Finish segment to claim 5th in the age group.

Courtney Alsup of Bakersfield put on a masterclass across all 13.1 miles. She held 1st among women from the opening checkpoint through the tape and closed with the fastest women's split on the 10K-to-Finish stretch — meaning she didn't just lead, she accelerated away. Her 1:23:00 at a 6:20/mi clip was in a class of its own in the F25-29 field of 84.

Annechiena Knevelbaard of Visalia was the clear second-best story up front. Her 1:28:23 (6:45/mi) held 2nd among women throughout, and her 2nd-fastest women's 10K-to-Finish split shows she was running the back half with real purpose — just not enough to close a gap that Alsup had already made comfortable.

The battle for 3rd and 4th was the most compelling duel in the age group. Breton Cameron (Fresno, 1:43:01 at 7:52/mi) and Zuyuan Huang (Fresno, 1:44:18 at 7:57/mi) ran strikingly similar races, finishing 1:17 apart. Cameron held 3rd, but Huang was the one gaining ground late — she moved from 19th to 17th among women over the final stretch while Cameron slipped from 13th to 15th, making the gap closer than it looked at the halfway point.

Rounding out the top five, Carissa Celum of Clovis crossed in 1:47:47 (8:13/mi), jumping five places among women over the 10K-to-Finish leg to take 5th. Behind her, Isabel Mendoza (1:48:11), Zhe Lu (1:50:21), and Lydia Samuelson (1:53:35) filled out a competitive mid-pack, with all 84 finishers contributing to one of the larger age groups on the course.