Rachel Schneider Wins Twice as Craig Nowak (3,000m) And Willy Fink (Mile) Ride Late Surges To Victory At JDL Fast Track

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Competition for precious Olympic berths for U.S. women's distance events are is shaping up to be fierce, but Under Armour athlete Rachel Schneider is showing that she's got a variety of options. 

Two and a half months after gaining the Olympic standard in the 10,000 meters at the Sound Running Track Meet in Southern California, Schneider struck twice within an hour at the shorter distances of 3,000 meters and the mile at the Camel City Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. 

Schneider, representing Under Armour, earned a pair of $6,000 paychecks for her victories in the elite portion of the meet that concluded Saturday.

RUNNERSPACE VIDEO COVERAGE | PHOTOS | RESULTS

First, Schneider sped up over the final 600 meters to pull away and win the 3,000 in 8:57.01. Fifty minutes later, she lined up in the mile and was too strong over the final 400 for Reebok Boston Track Club athlete Josette Norris, and won the mile in 4:30.54. Norris was second in 4:31.48.

In the men's 3,000, Craig Nowak (unattached) used a 58-second closing 400 to pull out a victory in 7:50.89. Brian Barraza of Tinman Elite was second in 7:52.72 and a total of seven men broke eight minutes. 

Willy Fink of Under Armour District Track Club ran a closing 27.5-second final 200 meters on the flat track and won the men's mile, to close the meet, with 3:59.01. Jeff Theis of Tinman Elite also broke four minutes, finishing second in 3:59.73.

Hannah Segrave of New Balance won the women's 800 meters in 2:04.70. 

Miami (Ohio) sophomore Finley McLear, after being bumped off the track early in the race, recovered to outsprint the field in the men's 800 meters, finishing in 1:49.87. Quamel Prince (1:51.02), Edose Ibadin (1:51.15) and Alex Amankwah (1:51.63), all members of the Under Armour District Track Club, were chasing McLear on the final lap. 

N.C. State's Hannah Steelman finished second to Schneider in the 3,000 meters in 9:05.33. With the flat track conversion, Steelman moved to No. 7 on the current NCAA Indoor list at 9:00.70. Three other collegians moved into the top 20 of the Division 1 list, with senior Nicole Fegans of Georgia Tech (9:13,59), senior Hannah Brookover of Wake Forest (9:17.98) and Wolfpack freshman Katelyn Tuohy (9:19.67) placing seventh, eighth and ninth in the race. 

Among the highlights of the non-elite sections was Korey Pratt (unattached/Hillside NC) winning the 600 meters in 1:22.17, one of the top high school times in the country this season.

Robert Heppenstall of the Under Armour District Track Club, running alone, broke the facility record in the 1,000 meters, clocking 2:24.02.

North Carolina A&T sophomore Paula Salmon won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.20 seconds.