Fairley takes two events on the track at Prairie Wolf Invitational
Central Dutch Athletics
LINCOLN, NEB. — The lone returning All-American for the Central College men’s track and field, Mark Fairley (senior, Dubuque) was impressive in the team’s 2018 debut, winning both the 5,000 and 1,000 meter races at the Prairie Wolf Invitational Friday night.
The Prairie Wolf Invitational was hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University, but contested on the banked track at the Devaney Sports Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Fairley, also an All-American during the 2017 cross country season, cleared the field by 20 seconds in the 5K with a time of 15 minutes, 28.94 seconds. He outpaced teammate Kyle Pape (junior, Dubuque, Wahlert HS) in the 1,000 meters by just under two seconds with a winning time of 2:32.78.
“He didn’t really have a whole lot people to run with in the 5K,” coach Joe Dunham said. “His legs are also pretty tired from training.
In addition to Pape’s runner-up finish in the 1,000 (2:34.62), senior Jon Specht (Dubuque, Hempstead HS) was the third runner across the line in the same race (2:35.17). Specht added a bronze in the mile run as well (4:30.31).
“I thought the entire men’s distance group ran really well today,” Dunham said. “There were a lot of PRs today. To have that in the first meet of the season is an exciting thing.”
In the sprints, Central’s highest-placing performance belonged to Mitchell Yaw (junior, Orange City, MOC-Floyd Valley HS) who finished fourth in the 600 meters (1:26.52)
“There’s a lot of promise with him,” Dunham said. “As he continues to learn how to run indoors and gets into shape, we’ll see some really good things out of him.”
Though short of his season-best mark of 6 feet, 9 inches, Will Daniels (sophomore, Geneseo, Ill., Geneseo HS) was third in the high jump at 6-5.
Central will once again host the Dutch Athletics Classic on Saturday, January 27, starting with field events at 11 a.m. The first race on the track will be the 60-meter hurdle prelims at 2 p.m.
