PELLA— A second place performance by the Central College men's track and field squad at Saturday's Dutch Athletics Classic was highlighted by victories in the 1,000-meter run and mile-run for junior Mark Fairley (Dubuque).
           
In the team standings, Central had 151 points and came in second. William Penn University had 220 points and won the championship.
           
In the 1,000 meter-run, Fairley registered a time of 2 minutes, 36.13 seconds. He outpaced teammate Taylor Donner (junior, Dubuque), who ran it in 2:41.38, for the win. His time of 4:24.22 in the mile pushed him ahead of Isaac Steffensmeier's (senior, Fort Madison) time of 4:29.36.
           
"I'm really happy with where Mark is at right now," coach Joe Dunham said. "It's been a good start to the season for him."
           
Freshman Will Daniels (freshman, Geneseo, Ill.) continues to impress early on in his Dutch career, losing a tie-breaker for first in the high jump after clearing six feet, eight inches. He sailed over the bar at 10-4 in the pole vault to take fourth. He also placed seventh in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.18 seconds.
           
"Will had a fantastic day," Dunham said. "It's real exciting to see him compete so well in the high jump. He's coming along in his other events as well, especially the pole vault."
           
Blake Morgan (junior, Story City, Roland-Story HS) won the 300-meter dash in a time of 37.35 seconds.

"Overall it was a good performance by both of our teams," Dunham said. "It was a good launching point to figure out where we are at."
           
Central heads north to Platteville, Wis. for the Pioneer Open on Saturday, January 28.