* Tyler Rader grimmacing en-route to a PB 800m at the PIAA Championship | Photo by Nate Kuntz
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EUGENE, Ore. - It didn't take long for the state track and field record book to come under assault once again.
For the second time in the opening days of June, the PA standard in the boys' 2,000-meter steeplechase has been broken.
Related Link: Dale Hall Snags PA 2000m Steeplechase Record
This time, it was recent Huntington Area graduate Tyler Rader dipping below the 6:00 mark, taking the state record down to 5:56.65 on Thursday at Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon.
Running in the third of four sections of the high school steeplechase at Hayward Field, Rader stayed off the early pace, pushing through the first lap eighth in the 13-runner field.
He moved up to fourth after the next go-round with the third fastest split in the field.
As the only runner able to hold a pace under 75 seconds, Rader picked up another spot before he increased the tempo and started his run for the heat win. Rader was the fastest in each of the final two laps, with his 1:07.46 lap being the heat's fastest by more than 3 seconds.
In fact, Rader's closing speed was unmatched by anyone in the steeplechase's 57-runner field and he needed just a 2:19.42 to complete the final two circuits.
Race winner Caleb Woolford of Utah was next quickest at 2:21.15. Woolford hit the finish in 5:54.52, with Josiah Jaquith of Washington next at 5:56.04 and Marcelo Parra of Texas third in 5:56.57.
Rader's performance erased Dale Hall's recent 6:06.48 from the state record books, and that effort had supplanted the 6:06.89 turned in by Sam Signor of East Pennsboro in 2016.
Rader's record run comes on the heels of a highly decorated state meet at Shippensburg. He opened day 1 with a 4:17.36 performance for fourth in the Class AA 1600m, ran 9:39.20 for 15th in the 3200m and then ran a PR 1:54.92 for second in the 800m.
Back on April 20, Rader got a taste for the steeplechase as won the 97th Roddick Invitational at Shippensburg in 6:24.21.