HIGHLANDS, New Jersey — A warm morning couldn’t stop the top masters athletes from putting on a show at the 2023 USATF Masters 12 KM Championships. Jeannie Rice 75, Perry Shoemaker 52, and Nat Larson 60 were all able to set new American age division records. Rice’s 54:53 bettered the women’s 75-79 record set in 2014 by the legendary Libby James. Rice, who recently set three 75-79 world records on the track, beat her age-division record by more than six minutes. Shoemaker lowered the longest standing of the five records by 17 seconds. Shirley Matson’s 1993 record of 44:56 fell to Shoemaker’s 44:39. Larson took down one of the records of the great Tom McCormack from 2014 - his 42:26 dropping it by 24 seconds. Brian Flynn broke open the men’s overall race early, forging a 25m lead by the time they made the first turn at 1.2 miles. Flynn widened the gap after that for a victory margin of just over a minute in 39:01, the only runner to break 40 minutes. Fabian Daza was second in 40:03, with Robbie Genzel, out of the 45-49 age division, claiming third in 40:27. Aaron Totten-Lancaster and David Angell followed in fourth and fifth, just eight and 14 seconds behind Genzel. In the women’s race, Shoemaker led out a tight lead pack through the first 1.2 miles with Alexandra Niles and Jennifer Pesce, the overall women’s winner at the USATF Masters 5 KM championships, tucked in tight behind her. At the mile there was already a substantial gap back to Abby Dean and Fiona Bayly. Pesce worked her way to the front and took her second overall Masters win this year. Her time of 44:31 allowed her an eight-second victory margin over Shoemaker in second, with Niles in third in 45:09 – still three minutes ahead of any other competitor. Each athlete earned an age-grading percentage rating which compares their time to the best-possible performance for a runner their age. Not surprisingly, Rice had the top age-graded score for women at 103.92% - the top age-graded performance at a road race this year. Nora Cary 68 scored a 97.67% from clocking 52:33 to win her division; and Sabra Harvey 74 finished in 58:58 for a 95.23%. Larson had the top performance for men at 93.74%, followed by Rick Lee 62 whose 43:25 earned a 92.45%, with Gene Dykes 75, third with his 91.51% from a 50:38. Age Division Men’s Champions: 40-44 Flynn; 45-49 Genzel; 50-54 Gregory Putnam 41:12; 55-59 Brian Crowley 42:32; 60-64 Larson; 65-69 Roger Sayre 45:38; 70-74 James Linn 51:49; 75-79 Dykes; 80-84 Doug Goodhue 1:02:42; and 85-89 Roland Ratmeyer 1:36:01. Age Division Women’s Champions: 40-44 Pesce; 45-49 Euleen Josiah-Tanner 47:43; 50-54 Shoemaker; 55-59 Bayly 47:34; 60-64 Suzanne La Burt 49:15; 65-69 Cary; 70-74 Harvey; 75-79 Rice; 80-84 Sandra Folzer 1:28:10; 85-89 Joyce Hodges-Hite 2:09:05. Pesce led the Garden State Track Club to victory in the women’s 40+ team competition; Garden State also took first in the women’s 50+ in a tight contest with Shore Athletic Club AC and Willow Street AC. Shore AC took the win in 60+, with Oregon’s Team Red Lizard taking the honors in 70+. Flynn led Garden State to victory in men’s 40+. The Atlanta TC led the way in 50+ and 70+, with Shore AC, the closest thing to a home team, winning 60+. Masters athletes wrap up their 2023 Masters National Grand Prix with the USATF Masters 5 KM Cross Country Championships in Boca Raton, Florida on October 7. More information can be found here. Contributed by Paul Carlin Photo Credit: Jason Timochko