LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RESULTS

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Gonzaga men's track student-athlete, Troy Fraley will run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the prestigious Payton Jordan Invitational Friday.

The Payton Jordan Invitational, now in its 22nd year, has become the destination for fast distance running, and more magic on the track is expected at Cobb Track and Angell Field on the campus of Stanford University.

Last year's meet included three national records, and three world-leading, eight U.S.-leading, and seven collegiate-leading marks. In addition, the meet provided launching points for 2016 Olympians such as Matthew Centrowitz, the first American to win an Olympic 1,500 since 1908, and steeplechaser Evan Jager, who captured silver. Both Centrowitz and Jager are scheduled to compete once again.

To comprehend the quality and depth of these races, consider that 52 men broke 14 minutes in the 5,000 last year and 41 women broke 16 minutes. In addition, 34 women broke 33 minutes in the 10,000 and 33 men broke 29.

Fraley enters the event with the fourth-fastest time in the West Region, 8:45.14, which also ranks eighth in the nation currently. He ran the new school record at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival in Los Angeles on March 31. The redshirt junior is in comfortable position for his second trip to the NCAA West Preliminaries from May 25-27.

This year's regionals return to Austin, Texas, where Fraley placed 29th with a time of 9:10.49 at the 2015 West Prelims. The Bulldog men have had a representative in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA West Preliminaries in each of the past three seasons.

Fraley is in the second of two sections Friday, but his heat will be run first. There are 12 runners in the first section and 13 in the second.

Of the six collegiate entries in the field, Fraley has the second-fastest entry time. Troy Reeder of Furman has the current top time in NCAA Div. I at 8:40.57. He is in the first section, along with Lousiville's Edwin Kibichiy, who finished third at last year's national championships.

The second section of the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., prior to the first heat at 7:20 p.m. Live video will be available on FloTrack, while live results will be on GoZags.com.