PEORIA, ILLINOIS -- The USATF Masters 4 Mile Championships were held on Saturday, June 14, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria, Illinois. Although it was humid, the upper 60’s temperatures and generally moderate winds contributed to good times and many tight races. OVERALL WOMEN Three athletes separated from the pack early. Jessica Hruska enjoyed a dominant win. Up by 50 meters at the one-mile mark, Hruska added to it steadily, claiming the win in 24:48, with a cushion of 200 meters. Kara Parker 25:37 overcame an early push by Abby Dean 25:49, to claim the silver medal, with Dean in third. MEN David Angell, who won the 5 Km Masters Overall Championship last year, took it out hard on the first (and only) uphill segment, enjoying a small gap on Dickson Mercer, with Chris Brown, Taylor Smith, Frank Zoldak and Chuck Terry tucked in behind. Mercer closed the gap by the halfway point, with that chase pack still a few yards back. It was tight through three miles until Angell made a move that Mercer could not answer just before the left turn to the downhill finish. Angell won in 20:42, followed by Mercer 20:53 in second and Smith 20:55 closing fast in third. AGE GRADING Age grading indicates the best performance, adjusted for age, across all age divisions. MEN Frank Zoldak, 58, had the top performance. His 21:29 earned just over 94%. Gary Ostwald’s win in 75-79 at 27:50 scored a few hundredths of a percent lower. Dan King closed off the podium. His 23:39 graded 92%. WOMEN Patrice Combs won the 65-69 championship in 28:18, earning over 91% and the top age grade. Parker’s second place overall at the age of 55 netted above 86% for second. Suzanne Cordes ran 29:21 to finish third at a bit under 86%. AGE DIVISIONS National champions were crowned: MEN 40-44 D Mercer 20:53 45-49 D Angell 20:42 50-54 Robb Awe 22:03 55-59 F Zoldak 21:29 60-64 Douglas Baldwin 22:58 65-69 Dan King 23:39 70-74 Jack Pottle 26:38 75-79 G Ostwald 27:50 80-84 Przemyslaw Nowick 35:51 85-89 Roland Cormier 43:23 WOMEN 45-49 J Hruska 24:48 50-54 A Dean 25:49 55-59 K Parker 25:37 60-64 Kris Huff 28:03 65-69 P Combs 28:18 70-74 Cynthia Lucking 37:23 75-79 Kathleen Allen 41:06 80-84 Susan Sajdak 46:30 85-89 Joyce Hodges-Hite 1:12:25. TEAMS The Atlanta Track Club cleaned up with the Women’s races, winning W40+, W60+, and W70+ team races. On the Men’s side, Atlanta also took the M50+ title. But TCRC Twin Cities Running Club took the honors in M60+ with the Boulder Road Runners capturing the M70+ win. Submitted by Paul Carlin