M19 & Under: Kyvik Holds Off a Late Charging Field in San Francisco

• Ben Kyvik, 19, wins in 2:48:03 (6:25/mi) — more than six minutes clear of 2nd place
• Mario Aluizo's comeback: entered the men's field around 380th, climbed to 73rd by the finish — and posted the 11th-fastest men's split on the 22M→24M stretch
• Tight battle for 2nd–4th: Zach Lenkaitis (2:54:17), Corey Liew (2:54:44), and Preston Lobraico (2:56:29) separated by just 2:12 across three spots
• Brandon Mai, 16, and Brandon Ajanel, 15, were among the youngest finishers — Mai 7th in 3:05:19, Ajanel 14th in 3:20:27

Ben Kyvik ran a composed, controlled race from start to finish. The 19-year-old from Berkeley held a steady position in the men's field throughout — hovering around 33rd–39th among all men through the middle miles before pulling back to 30th by the final stretch. His 6:25/mi average was a full 14 seconds per mile faster than the next finisher, and he capped it with the 19th-fastest men's split on the 24M→Finish segment. In a 150-finisher under-19 field battling cool, windy conditions along the Bay, Kyvik was never seriously threatened.

Behind him, the race for the podium was a different story. Zach Lenkaitis (2nd, 2:54:17) made one of the most consistent climbs in the field — moving from 85th among men at the first checkpoint all the way to 47th by the finish, posting the 32nd-fastest men's split on the closing 24M→Finish leg. Corey Liew (3rd, 2:54:44) was even more aggressive early, surging from 156th in the men's field to 49th by the end, with the 33rd-fastest men's split on the 10.5M→12M segment suggesting he pushed hard through the middle of the course. Preston Lobraico (4th, 2:56:29) made his move more gradually, climbing from 122nd to 60th among men. The finish times were close; the efforts to get there were anything but identical.

The most dramatic journey of the day belonged to Mario Aluizo. The 19-year-old from Harbor City, CA, started deep in the men's field — around 380th — and spent the entire race hunting runners down, one by one, finishing 73rd among men and 5th in the under-19 field in 2:58:56. His 11th-fastest men's split on the 22M→24M stretch tells you exactly when he turned the afterburners on. Jack Biggar (6th, 3:03:34), Brandon Mai (7th, 3:05:19, just 16 years old), and Maximiliano Arce (8th, 3:06:54) rounded out a competitive top ten, while 15-year-old Leo Gonzalez crossed in 3:29:00 to claim 19th — a notable effort from one of the youngest in a deep field.