Brian Fay planned for a ‘hard close’ and delivered with a strong final lap. Photo by Kevin Neri
Brian Fay of the University of Washington won the Pac-12 title in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase during a cloudy afternoon at Hayward Field with a time of 8 minutes, 32.47 seconds. The school record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000, Fay is hoping to cement the steeplechase into his racing repertoire.
“I’ve ran 8:30 a couple times, but I’ve never steepled in a place with big crowds,” Fay said. “It makes me confident going into other races that I can compete in steeple.”
He beat Stanford’s Ky Robinson by about a second and a half.
The native Irishman had not competed in a steeplechase since June of last year. This was also the first time Fay has competed in a Pac-12 championship.
“This is new territory for me, everything is new,” Fay said. “I’m in the 1,500, steeplechase and racing the 5,000 tomorrow. So I’m really just trying to take it day by day.”
After being in the middle of the pack for the first 2,000 meters, Fay knew he could not let the front of the pack slip away. He had to make a move if he wanted to secure the title.
“As the race unfolded, I saw Ky gap the field. I thought I have to put myself in position to compete with them,” Fay said. “I can’t let this slip, even if you don’t feel good you have to put yourself in position to go with them.”
Staying in the middle of the pack early on in the race paid off for Fay as he still had some energy to spare for the last 400 meters to pull away from the competition.
“Coming into the race, the plan was to have a hard close,” Fay said. ”While running, you have to park the ego and face each barrier as they come. With 400 to go, I felt like I had a lot left and was able to close.”
The Pac-12 championship is a short lived moment in the spotlight for Fay as he aims his sights on the NCAA Championships. After failing to make the Olympics last year in the steeplechase, the new Pac-12 champion still feels the need to prove himself whenever possible.
“NCAAs are going to be competitive,” Fay said. “If I can just be competitive, beating as many guys as I can and putting as many guys to the sword is the main goal.”
