SANTEE — It was a cool, rainy morning in Santee, California for the 2023 USATF 35km Race Walk Championships as the nation’s top walkers set their sights on a USATF title and the chance to earn valuable World Athletics ranking points. Two very different races produced repeat winners Sunday on the rainy streets as Miranda Melville and Nick Christie defended the USATF 35km Race Walk Championships titles they won on this course last year. Melville made a strong move over the final two kilometers to win the women's title in 2:57:22 and become the second-fastest American woman ever, while Christie had a much easier time of it and came away with the men's victory in 2:44:16, the No. 7 all-time U.S. performance and his third straight national title. Christie went out to an early lead in the men's race and had a lead of more than a minute by the 5km mark, going through in 23:02. He continued his torrid pace through 10km in 45:20, stretching his margin to almost three minutes, and by the halfway mark he had almost four minutes on his nearest challenger, Dan Nehnevaj, with John Cody Risch another minute back. Christie flew through 20km in 1:30:38, close to his American record pace, with Nehnevaj at 1:34:14 and Risch at 1:35:11. At 25km the placings remained the same in the top three as Christie led in 1:53:50, and he added to his lead by 30km, going through in 2:18:18 to hold a 5:10 edge on Nehnevaj. Cruising over the final 5km, Christie won by 3:32 over Nehnevaj, who crossed the line in 2:47:48 to take over the No. 6 spot on the all-time U.S. performer list. Risch shattered his previous personal best, slicing more than 15 minutes off with a 2:50:06 for bronze, good for No. 8 on the all-time U.S. performer list. Walking behind guest competitor Ilse Guerrero of Mexico, American women's record holder Robyn Stevens passed 5km in 24:41, almost a minute in front of Melville and Maria Michta-Coffey. Stevens extended that gap through 10km in 49:35, leading the duo by 1:16, and she continued to hold the lead at 15km, albeit with a margin that had dropped to 35 seconds over Melville. Over the next 5km, Melville and Michta-Coffey passed Stevens, with Melville hitting the split at 1:40:50 and Stevens 12 seconds adrift. A crucial 5km segment through 25km put Melville and Michta-Coffey in the lead for good with a 1:51 edge on Stevens. Melville surged through 30km in 2:32:05 to go 17 seconds ahead of Michta-Coffey, and she pulled even further away over the next 4km to win by 1:17. Michta-Coffey set a lifetime best of 2:58:39, the No. 3 all-time U.S. performance, while Stephanie Casey's 3:00:05 PB in third put her at No. 4 on the all-time U.S. performer list. Prize money on the line totaled $50,000, with $8,000 awarded to the top male and female finishers. Subject to USATF, World Athletics, and Pan American Games team selection procedures and qualifying protocols, U.S. men and women who established a place finish at this event may qualify for the 35km Race Walks at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, August 19-27, 2023, and Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, October 29 – November 5, which will include a new 35km mixed team race walk event. USATF will not send a team to the Pan American Race Walking Cup in Managua, Nicaragua in April. All USATF team selection procedures can be found here. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.