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The Berkeley Prep runner capped off the 2000 season with his second state title and became the leader of a young Bucs team.
By MIKE READLING
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 28, 2000
TAMPA -- Rolf Steier lived the dream of every athlete who set foot on a cross country course this season.
After cruising through his junior year, the Berkeley Prep runner arrived in Titusville as the defending state champion and the favorite to win the Class A state title. Steier then went out and won his race by 13 seconds in a time of 15:10, marking not only his second state championship, but also a personal-best time at that level.
The numbers don't tell the whole Steier story, though. There is also the matter of why Steier is one of the best runners this county has ever seen -- it's because of his love for the sport.
Despite the fact he finished first, set a new personal record and lived up to his preseason ranking as one of the top 50 runners and one of the top seven juniors in the nation according to The Harrier, a nationally renowned runners' magazine, the state championship race was not the most fun Steier had this season.
The meet that stands out in Steier's mind is the Florida Invitational at the University of Florida. Ironically, it was the only race Steier didn't win all season.
Rather than running away with the blue ribbon by more than a minute, as Steier was prone to do in several meets early in the season, he found himself shoe-to-shoe with one of Florida's best, Mike Swope of Winter Park.
The race started out at a slow pace and stayed that way for the first 2 miles. The last mile was a simple sprint to the finish. Swope, who would go on to win the Class 4A state title with a time of 14:54, beat Steier by one second. Steier reveled in the competition.
"I never really thought about it but I guess that race was the most fun for me," he said. "I enjoyed that race more because it was more strategic I think. We were close the whole way."
The race also signified the end of the first year Steier dedicated strictly to running.
After playing club soccer every season since he was 5 years old, Steier gave up his first love to become a more complete runner and a better student. Instead of using club soccer to help get himself in shape for cross country, Steier used the summer to put together some base training.
The move shows Steier is intent on making running his No. 1 priority, although he may still play soccer at Berkeley Prep just for fun.
"I did it to concentrate on running but also because playing soccer takes up a lot of time. It kind of wears of you out," Steier said. "Now I get more time to get some sleep."
Besides the pressure of being named one of the top 50 runners in the nation and defending a state title, Steier also found himself as the veteran runner on a very young Berkeley team, a team that featured an eighth-grader consistently in the top five.
"I didn't try to do anything different as far as being a leader," Steier said. "I just tried to lead by example and keep people excited about running."