Clay and Wilson are making their mark

Two athletes with local ties have made their mark this season in track as the drive for the 2008 Olympics has already begun.

Decathlete Bryan Clay and long and triple jumper Aarik Wilson have made their mark early in the outdoor season.

Clay was named as USA Track and Field's Athlete of the week after winning the decathlon on Sunday at the Hypo Combined Events meeting in Gotzis, Austria with a world-leading 8,677 points.

On Saturday, Clay won the 100 (10.42 seconds, good for 994 points) and long jump (25-2, 977 points), threw 51 feet, 0 3/4 in the shot put (824 points), cleared 6-9 in the high jump (859 points) and ran 48.87 in the 400 (867 points), finishing the day with 4,521 points. On Sunday, he won the 110-meter high hurdles (13.74, 1008 points), was second in the discus (171-3, 917 points) and pole vault 16-5 3/4, 910 points), and won the javelin (218-1, 836 points) before running 5:13.47 in the 1,500 meters for 485 points.

Clay, the reigning world champion who won the silver medal in the 2004 Olympics, is coached by Kevin Reid, who is the men's track coach at Azusa Pacific. Clay competed for Reid at Azusa Pacific.

Wilson, a Fallon graduate who was a standout at the University of Indiana, is now ranked second in the nation in the triple jump. Wilson's best mark this year of 56-5 3/4 ranks only behind reigning world champion Walter Davis, who has a mark of 57-1.

Wilson also ranks seventh in the nation in the long jump at 26-4 1/2. Wilson is the grandson of Carson City's Grant and Nisha Kremers. Both Clay and Wilson are Olympic hopefuls for 2008.