M20-24: Maciel Dominates the Central Valley's Fastest Young Men

• Chandler Maciel won the M20-24 group in 1:07:36 (5:09/mi), posting the fastest split on the second half of the course among all men.
• Veeresh Neralagi was the only other runner to crack 1:11, finishing 2nd in 1:10:47 — a 3:11 gap back to Maciel.
• Ruben Reyes moved from 4th to 3rd on the back half, clocking the 3rd-fastest men's split on the 10K→Finish stretch to seal the podium in 1:18:30.
• A tight four-way cluster at 4th–8th place — Parker Stofan (1:31:30) through Anthony Sahakian (1:36:45) — made for the most competitive racing outside the top three.

Chandler Maciel, 24, from Hanford, made this one look authoritative. His 5:09/mi average across 13.1 miles is a pace that commands attention in any field, and he held the men's lead wire to wire — sitting 1st from the opening checkpoint through the finish. He didn't just win; he also ran the fastest men's split on the 10K-to-Finish stretch, meaning he got stronger as the race went on.

Veeresh Neralagi, 23, out of San Jose, was the clear runner-up story — 2nd at every checkpoint, 2nd on the closing split, and 2nd at the line in 1:10:47. He ran a genuinely strong race at 5:24/mi, but Maciel's 3:11 margin left no doubt about the pecking order. Behind them, Ruben Reyes of Reedley made his move count where it mattered: he was 4th through the first half but ran the 3rd-fastest closing split in the men's field to overtake his way onto the podium, finishing in 1:18:30 at 5:59/mi.

The battle for 4th and 5th was the closest drama of the day. Parker Stofan (1:31:30, 6:59/mi) and Samuel Kellar (1:31:43, 6:60/mi) were separated by just 13 seconds at the line — but they got there by trading positions. Stofan moved up from 29th to 28th among men on the back half while Kellar faded from 27th to 29th, meaning Stofan caught and passed him during that closing stretch. Behind them, Bobby Tallmadge (1:36:07), David Barajas (1:36:37), and Anthony Sahakian (1:36:45) were packed within 38 seconds of each other across 6th through 8th, rounding out a competitive mid-pack in a 48-finisher M20-24 group.