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SAN FRANCISCO – There's no telling how many miles Turner Wiley has run to get to this day.
 
All he knew for sure was that every one of them was racing through his mind …
                                                                                 
… on a day when ultimately raced the best 6.2 miles of his life.
 
The Seattle Pacific senior broke his own outdoor school record in the 10,000 meters and, for the first time ever, put his name onto the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying list, thanks to a speedy performance at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival.

 

Wiley (Issaquah, Wash. / Issaquah HS) completed 25 laps around the Cox Stadium track in 30 minutes, 53.09 seconds. That bettered his previous school record of 31:03.68, set on this same oval last April 3, and gave him 39th place overall among the 93 finishers.
 
It also beat the NCAA provisional standard of 31:00.00. As of Friday afternoon, Wiley's time stood at No. 17 on the national list.
 
"With a mile to go, Chris (Falcons assistant coach Reed) said, 'You need a sub-5 to be sure you're going to be under 31," Wiley said. "Those last four laps, my entire career went before my eyes – it was the weirdest experience.
 
"The entire time, I said, 'You're going to hate yourself if you don't go under 31. Don't let up, don't let up. It's only going to hurt for this one mile – and I don't care if it's 30:59.'"
                               
At the wire, Wiley had broken 31 with seven seconds to spare.
 
"He has worked his butt off for several years," Reed said. "He's one of the easiest people to root for. It's really nice when he comes out and accomplishes his goals like he did today."
 
RUN WITH THE FAST CROWD
The race went out a little faster than Wiley would have preferred. Then beyond the mile mark, he found himself in a pack with about a dozen others. The remainder of the 32-man field was well behind them.
 
"I looked at Chris, and he said to go with them, just stick with the pack and hold on," Wiley said. "If I was to drop back, I would have been running solo the entire time. It was better to push the pace early. I'm definitely one who likes to go out faster, so going out fast wasn't too nerve-wracking for me."
 
Wiley is in his fifth year with the Falcons, having missed his entire true freshman season (2012) with an injury. He has been making the most of the extra opportunity. During the winter indoor season, he broke the school record for the indoor 5,000, clocking 14:56.77.
 
"It has been such a long road. I'm so happy to get what I wanted to get," Wiley said of breaking the 31-minute mark. And as for also getting onto the NCAA provisional list, "That was definitely a really big plus. It's nice to finally get there and see the hard work pay off."
 
With more than half of the outdoor schedule still remaining, Wiley has made no secret of his desire to chase after the outdoor 5K mark of 14:39.6, which has stood for 46 springs since Walt Notter set it in 1969. His next chance to do that might come in two weeks at one of the three meets in Southern California: the Mt. SAC Relays, Bryan Clay Invitational, or Beach Invitational.
 
AND THAT'S NOT ALL
-- Senior Adam Avischious ran a personal-best 3:56.61 in the 1,500 meters. The time for Avischious (Colorado Springs, Colo.) beat his previous PR of 3:57.05 from the 2014 Saint Martin's Invitational. It was his first sub-4 since going 3:59.85 at the 2014 GNAC meet.
-- At the Stanford Invitational, sophomore Peyton Harris (Boise, Idaho) finished fourth in the long jump in a season-best 22 feet, 5 ¾ inches.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
San Francisco State Distance Carnival
Friday, April 1, 2016
Cox Stadium / San Francisco, Calif.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
800 – 1, Nathan Kipchumba (Alaska Anchorage) 1:49.67#. SPU – 50, Jesse Phan 1:56.47.
1500 – 1, Allar Lamp (Unattached) 3:47.92. SPU – 29, Adam Avischious 3:56.61.
10,000 – 1, Edwin Kangogo (Anchorage) 29:46.48#. SPU – 39, Turner Wiley 30:53.09#.
3000 steeplechase – 1, Haran Dunderdale (Bradley) 8:55.68. SPU – 61, Ben Halladay 10:09.47.
 
# NCAA provisional qualifying
 

Stanford Invitational
Friday, April 1, 2016
Cobb Track / Angell Field / Stanford, Calif.
 
SPU EVENTS ONLY
Long jump – 1, John Reynolds (Air Force) 23-0 ½ / 7.02m. SPU – 4, Peyton Harris 22-5 34 / 6.85m.