Monday, April 23, 2001

[ TRACK AND FIELD ]

Castle graduate
on top of the world
... for now

By Jason Kaneshiro
Star-Bulletin

For at least a little while, Kaneohe's Bryan Clay can say he's the best athlete in the world.

The Castle High School graduate currently holds the year's top point total in the decathlon throughout the world after a record-setting performance at the Mt. SAC Relays last week in Walnut, Calif.

Clay, a junior at Azusa Pacific University, scored 7,980 points at the meet held last Thursday and Friday on the APU campus.

In addition to posting the world's top score of the year, he also set a school record and eclipsed his previous best score of 7,373 points, which he set last year.

"It's cool," Clay said of his ranking. "It'll change as soon as people from Europe start doing their meets. But for a little while I can say it was (the best in the world). Not everybody can say that."

Clay got off to a strong start Thursday by winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.63 seconds. He also placed first in the long jump (7.42 meters) and high jump (2.0 meters). Clay finished fourth in the eight-man field in the shot put (13.12 meters) and the 400-meter dash (49.72 seconds).

He built on his lead Friday with a victory in the 110-meter high hurdles and went on to strong finishes in the discus (41.44 meters), pole vault (4.70 meters), javelin (53.96 meters) and 1,500-meter run (4 minutes, 40.37 seconds).

"There was a definite zone I was in," Clay said. "I had my focus on the right things. I was focused on God ... and not so much on the pressure of the meet. And I think that's what go me through the meet.

"I've been praying real hard. I have my mom praying. My girlfriend's parents are praying. So I think the prayers were heard and God just blessed me. Stuff just fell into place and it was awesome."

Clay said he wasn't aware of his point total until right before the 1,500-meter run, when he asked his coach what time he would need to reach 7,800 points -- the mark needed to qualify for the USA Outdoor National Championships.

"I went up to my coach and I asked, 'Coach, what do I need to run in the 15s?' " Clay said. "And he said, 'You have to run 4:38.' And I was like, 'Aw man.' But then he said, '... to break 8,000 points.' So that made me feel better and I just went out and ran."

Clay was one of the state's top sprinters in high school under the tutelage of Martin Hee at Castle and Duncan Macdonald with the Kailua Track Club. In fact, he didn't start training in the throwing events and pole vault until he arrived at Azusa Pacific.

And while his scores continue to climb in each of the events, the key to last week's performance was his ability to string together strong performances over the course of the two-day event.

"I don't know if it's that I've improved in a bunch of events," he said. "It's just that I'm becoming consistent in my events. ... It's all improving in little steps, but it's the consistency. I can do it at every meet."

Clay, the defending NAIA national champion in the decathlon and the two-time champion in the pentathlon, is now preparing for the NAIA national championships, set for May 24-26, as well as the USA Outdoor National Championships June 21-24 in Eugene, Ore.

He also hopes to compete in the World University Games in China in August. But Clay also has his eye on the ultimate prize -- a spot in the 2004 Olympic games.

"That's a long-term goal," he said. "It's starting to get more and more real every year. But 2004 is a definite goal."