Fairley set for national steeplechase finals
Central College
GENEVA, OHIO — Thursday’s rain may have slowed down the times but Central College men’s track and field junior Mark Fairley (junior, Dubuque) outwitted his opponents to secure a spot in Saturday’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Fairley snuck in as the 19th qualifier of the 20-man field by running a time of 9:12.07 a week ago. He clocked in at 9:18.61 during the prelims, finishing third in his heat and qualified fourth of 14 finalists.
“He ran really smart,” coach Joe Dunham said. “He was able to stay out of in trouble and was in control most of the way. He looked really good, I’m very pleased with his performance.”
The top-eight finishers in Saturday morning’s finals will earn All-American status. Fairley would be Central’s first All-American in the steeplechase.
“The biggest thing for Mark is he just has to stay out of trouble,” Dunham said. “At some point somebody is going surge forward and he has to be ready to go. Mark is definitely a come-form-behind runner, he uses his strength and speed to finish out the race.”
Using one of his strongest events to rebound from a tough start in the decathlon, Ryan Kruse (junior, St. Clair, Minn.) he recorded a shot put mark of 40 feet, 3.5 inches. In the 400-meter dash, he set a new personal best with a time of 54.97 seconds.
Kruse struggled in the first two events of the day, the 100-meter dash (11.97 seconds) and long jump (19-8). He also cleared 5-11.25 in the high jump.
“Ryan had a rough day today,” Dunham said. ‘This is valuable time for him to gain experience and be in the moment at the national championships.”
The decathlon finishes tomorrow starting at 9:30 a.m. with the 100-meter hurdles. The second day also features the discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1,500-meter run.
“Hopefully, he can have a big day tomorrow and gain some confidence in himself,” Dunham said. “Our goal will be to get him back here again next year.”
Also on Friday, the men’s high jump duo of Will Daniels (freshman, Geneseo, Ill.) and Logan Mulford (senior, Mount Pleasant) will compete at 12:30 p.m. Women’s 400-meter runner Hope Heitman (sophomore, Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS) will run a preliminary heat at 1:45 p.m.
