Boys U-19: Skibby edges Fiandaca in a two-man battle

• Cody Skibby, 13, won the M1-19 age group in 1:50:55 (11:06/mi), finishing just under a minute clear.
• Dash Fiandaca, 15, took 2nd in 1:51:54 (11:11/mi) — a 59-second gap across 10 miles.
• Fiandaca posted the 9th-fastest split in the men's field on the HWY 49→Finish stretch, a strong closing push that wasn't quite enough.
• Skibby answered with the 11th-fastest split in the men's field on the Fire Station→HWY 49 segment, helping him hold the advantage through the middle miles.

Two teenagers, two Californians, and less than a minute separating them after 10 miles of Sierra Nevada trail — the M1-19 age group delivered one of the tighter head-to-head finishes of the day. Cody Skibby, just 13 years old out of Orangevale, led the way in 1:50:55, holding an 11:06/mi average across the full course under warm conditions — 69°F with the sun breaking through.

Skibby's decisive stretch came through the Fire Station→HWY 49 segment, where he ran the 11th-fastest split in the men's field. That mid-race move helped him stabilize a lead he'd carry to the line. His place among the men's field hovered between 11th and 12th throughout, a remarkable position for a 13-year-old.

Dash Fiandaca, 15, from Foresthill, wasn't done. On the HWY 49→Finish leg he unleashed the 9th-fastest split in the men's field — a genuinely impressive closing kick that trimmed the gap but couldn't erase it. He crossed in 1:51:54, 59 seconds back, running 11:11/mi for the day.

Fifty-nine seconds over 10 miles is razor-thin. Fiandaca's finishing speed hints at what might happen if he catches Skibby earlier in the race next time around. For now, Skibby takes the age-group win — and at 13, he's got plenty of time to make that gap even wider.