DES MOINES— Taking down a record that has stood since 1999, Adam Sylvia (senior, Rochester, Mass., Old Rochester HS) reestablished the Central College men's track and field standard in the 1,500-meter run Thursday night at the Drake Relays distance carnival.

Sylvia finished 12th overall and second in the slower 1,500 meters heat with a time of 3 minutes, 50.37 seconds. He nudged the old school record by .37 seconds set by Jon Linadaman 23 years ago.

"I'm really proud of him," associate head coach Joe Dunham said. "It's a testament to the hard work he has put in. He's got a few more weeks to fine tune and he's got some great races in front of him."

Caleb Silver (senior, Conrad, BCLUW HS) nearly missed setting a school record in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, crossing the line in 8:57.55, just .16 seconds off Mark Fairley's school record set in 2018.
           
"Anytime you run a 13 second PR, it is an incredible performance," Dunham said. "He competed well and had a nice final 1000. He put himself into contention with a good move halfway through the race. His competitiveness took over and he was trying to win the race."
           
In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Megan Johnson (junior, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) moved up to second on Central's top-10 list with a time of 10:45.32. She finished 14th in the race.

"It was a nice jump up for her and a confidence booster for sure," Dunham said. "She executed
well and had some great water jumps. Her hurdles were great the whole way through. She was able to shift gears for the last 1000. The sense of urgency she showed was what she needed in that race."

Caroline McMartin (junior, Pella) took second in the unseeded 5,000-meter run in 17:07.48. Hailey Hill (senior, Las Vegas, Nevada, West Career and Technical Academy) was 29th in the 10,000-meter run in 38:32.06
           
"They've both been running incredible," Dunham said.  "They have made it harder on themselves to get PRs with how well they have been running. Caroline's race had a lot of shifting and it made it hard for her to get in a rhythm. Hailey did a great job with her approach to the race. She put herself out there and that can be scary to do. She did a great job."

Eight more entries from the Dutch track and field program will compete Friday.