AZUSA, CALIF. — Already the holder of the Central College's track and field program's fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase, Mark Fairley (senior, Dubuque) shaved nine seconds of the mark at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.
           
Competing against a field of Division I and professional athletes, Fairley crossed the line in 8 minutes, 57.39 seconds to finish 13^th overall and fifth in his heat.
           
"He ran a really intelligent race," coach Joe Dunham said. "He was in the back of the pack at the beginning and as the race developed he stayed consistent.  He maneuvered his way into the front pack with about three laps to go.
           
"There are some areas he can probably improve a little bit, like accelerating through the hurdles and staying off the rails. There was a few times he had to slow down over the hurdles because of guys being right in front of him."
           
In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Central's Evie Kammeyer (senior, Urbandale) and Holly McKinney (senior, St. Charles, Interstate 35 HS) finished within .03 seconds of each other. Kammeyer was 57th in 11:05.91 and McKinney was 58th in 11:05.94
           
"They both ran incredible," Dunham said. "They're maybe 10 seconds from qualifying from the national meet. They'll have a month or so to try and get there."
           
Day two of the Bryan Clay Invitational will see Fairley, McKinney and Kammeyer contest a 1,500-meter run. Kyle Pape (junior, Dubuque, Wahlert Catholic HS), Preston Kizer (sophomore, Dubuque) and Jon Specht (senior, Dubuque, Hempstead HS) will all also run the 1,500 meters and the 800 meters.