Turns out Trevor Dunbar's reign as the fastest 3,200-meter high school runner in the nation was short-lived -- or maybe it never happened at all.

The same day that Dunbar ran a lightning-fast time of 8 minutes, 51.5 seconds on his home track in Kodiak, a kid in Illinois put up a time two-tenths of a second faster.

Jeff Thode of Hoffman Estates, Ill., ran an 8:51.3 in a home meet Friday at Conant High School.

The track and field Web site dyestats.com heralded the twin achievements as a duel for the nation's top ranking, one that took almost four seconds off the previous best this season, an 8:55.19 by a California runner.

Dunbar and Thode have never met in a race, said Marcus Dunbar, Trevor's dad and coach.

Dunbar, 18, now ranks among the nation's top three in both distance events. His 4:10.78 in the 1,600 meters, posted at a meet in Juneau, is the third fastest among high schoolers, a shade behind a 4:09.12 recorded by Virginia's Tyler Stutzman.

Dunbar is no stranger to the national rankings. During the cross country season, he ranked No. 1 for a while at three miles (14:41) and 5 kilometers (14:47.7). At the Foot Locker national championships, he captured second place.

Dunbar's ultimate goal this season -- other than setting a state record in the 3,200 that eclipses the once-untouchable 9:04.4 two-mile time run by East High's Don Clary in 1975 -- is racing well at the Nike national championships. "That's what he's really pointing to," Marcus Dunbar said.

On Saturday, Dunbar turned his focus to the 800 meters, a race he competes in mainly to help Kodiak score team points. The result? The fastest time in Alaska this season, a personal-best 1:54.94. The previous best in Alaska this year? A 1:57.96, also from Dunbar.

But the buzz of the weekend -- if not of the season -- was the 3,200 on Friday, which has been posted on YouTube.

There are any number of remarkable things about that race, not the least is the size of the crowd on hand -- about 300 or 400 people, many of whom stood right on the track, just a lane or two away from Dunbar.

Most impressive, though, is that Dunbar got faster as the race got longer. He finished the first four laps in 4:26.1, his dad said. He clocked a 4:25.3 on the second four.

And the fastest lap of all was the eighth and final one, which Dunbar ripped through in a 64 seconds.

"Whatever you have left at the end, you give it, and he had a little bit left," Marcus Dunbar said. "It bodes well that he was able to close with his fastest lap."