Sydney Devore made quite an impact in her first marathon.

The Lakeland, Fla., resident debuted at Sunday morning's Pittsburgh Marathon and bested a field of about 2,000 female runners with a time of 2 hours, 32 minutes and 35 seconds

"It was a good course," said Devore, whose time also was good enough to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials.

Devore said because her preparation led to her result.

"I knew if I had a good day and I ran my race plan, I could run 2:33, and hopefully with a good kick, go under 2:33," Devore said. "I knew I was ready to run that today. I had a good day, and it worked out exactly how I hoped it would."

Devore, 26, said the race was special because several family members were in attendance. She was born and raised in Florida, but her father is from Chester, W.Va., about 40 miles from Pittsburgh.

"That was really important to me for my first marathon," she said.

Devore said she gained confidence in her standing as the race progressed.

"It kept going to repeat in my mind, 'You're winning this. You're winning this,' " she said.

Devore said she felt good despite a couple of less-than-desirable moments.

"I felt way better than I thought," she said. "I was expecting to hurt a lot more. Then I felt way worse than I expected over the last two miles. The downhill really caught up to me, going downhill for so long and then flattening out was a shock to my legs."

26.2 Miles in 02:32:38- That's impressive!!Congratulations to Gold Medal Winner of the Women's Division of the @DICKS Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon: Sydney Devore! #RunnerofSteel #10yearsrunning pic.twitter.com/nvRaIJlhRA

— Pittsburgh Marathon (@PGHMarathon) May 6, 2018

26.2 miles in 02:13:46.20. Wow! Huge congrats to Gold Medal Winner of the Men's Division of the @DICKS Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon: Fikadu Girma Teferi! #RunnerofSteel #10yearsrunning pic.twitter.com/JIBqDL9LVN

— Pittsburgh Marathon (@PGHMarathon) May 6, 2018

Kenya's Susan Jerotich finished as runner-up (2:34.19), and Ethiopia's Sinke Biyadgilign was third (2:35.46).

Ethiopia's Fikadu Girma Teferi was on a mission to improve on last year's third-place finish in the men's marathon.

Mission accomplished.

Teferi, 24, a member of the West Side Runners training group in New York, broke the finish-line tape in a winning time of 2:13.46, bettering the mark of 2:16.51 he recorded in 2017.

A pair of Kenyans, Kipkoech Ruto (2:13.52) and Kimutai Cheruiyot (2:14.57), finished second and third, respectively.

Teferi said experiencing the Pittsburgh course last year helped him assemble a winning strategy.

Teferi's time bettered his ninth-place finish at the 2017 New York City Marathon (2:13.58).

Teferi said he hopes to come back and run in Pittsburgh in 2019. His time goal next time?

"I don't know, maybe 2:09," he said.

Teferi knows what it takes as he posted a 2:09.34 in Dusseldorf, Germany, in April 2014.

⏱ RACE RESULTS: https://t.co/dPtp1lAc4c :

— Pittsburgh Marathon (@PGHMarathon) May 6, 2018

The Pittsburgh victory was his third at a U.S. marathon. He also won the Quad Cities Marathon in Moline, Ill., and the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon, both in 2016.

The Quad Cities Marathon was his first race in the U.S.

The top American finisher was Jim Spisak, 26, a Johnstown native, Duquesne grad and Rhode Island resident who took seventh (2:16.48).

As men's and women's champions, Devore and Teferi take home the winner's share of $8,000 from a total prize purse of $57,000.

Morgan Camerlo, 19, a student at Westminster, won the women's half-marathon in 1:22.36.

The men's winner of the half marathon was Antonio Cardona from Aibonito, Puerto Rico. The 21-year-old raced to a time of 1:08.42.

Bethel Park's Ashli Molinero defended her Pittsburgh Marathon women's handcycle title with a time of 3:01.10, and Kenneth Bestine, 51, from Clymer, N.Y., captured the men's title with a finishing time of 1:27.27. The field of 24 handcycles tied the record for the largest at the Pittsburgh Marathon.

Derrick, Tuliamuk capture USATF Half Marathon Titles

For the first time, the Pittsburgh Half Marathon served as the setting for the USA Track and Field Half Marathon Championships, and close to 100 of the nation's best distance runners came to Pittsburgh to test their mettle and vie for a record prize purse of $95,750.

Chris Derrick, 27, of Portand, Ore., and Aliphine Tuliamuk, 29, of Flagstaff, Ariz., won the men's and women's races, respectively, and each took home base winnings of $15,000 plus extra time bonus money.

Chris Derrick @CDerrickRun wins the men's USATF half marathon championship with a time of 1:02:36 via @TribLIVE @TribSports pic.twitter.com/CMgdHLRw4z

— Dan Speicher (@danspeicher) May 6, 2018

Derrick, a 14-time All-American distance runner at Stanford, added the USATF Half Marathon title to his three USA cross country championships. He finished in 1:02.37.

"I had to really buckle down a few times, and it's good to just know that no one did better than I did today," Derrick said. "This winter and spring hasn't been great. A little sickness, a little injury. I haven't been able to get exactly where I want my body (to be), but I was pleased with how I got the most out of myself."

The USATF Half Marathon victory was the eighth title for Tuliamuk, a native of Kenya, since she became a U.S. citizen in April 2016. She finished in 1:10.04

"The spectators out there were amazing," Tuliamuk said. "I don't remember what miles they were at, but they were just cheering and cheering. It was so much fun."

Gwen Jorgensen, the 2016 Olympic Triathlon champion, finished fourth (1:10.58) in her half-marathon debut.

The USATF Half Marathon Championships is part of the USATF Running Circuit, and the first 10 finishers at each race earn points. Those with the most points at the end of the series take home additional prize money.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Congrats to all of our finishers of the @PNCBank Handcycle Division of the 2018 @DICKS Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and winner Kenneth Bestine. pic.twitter.com/ZFBaeVQDq8

— Pittsburgh Marathon (@PGHMarathon) May 6, 2018

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