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Remarkable run

Rolf Steier won three state titles in four years at Berkeley Prep.

By MIKE READLING
© St. Petersburg Times,
published December 11, 2001

TAMPA -- It was November 1998 when Rolf Steier sprinted his way onto the state scene.

His emergence was a mad dash across Florida Community College's north campus as he broke out of a three-runner pack, chasing down West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman's Giscard Titus.

Steier came up seven seconds short, but his point was made. This was the championships, the skinny kid from Berkeley Prep was there and not leaving for a long time.

"I thought I would do pretty well that day," Steier said. "'It's not like I was unprepared or anything.

"But I think every year you gain something from the competition," he said. "It's just having the experience of racing in the high school championship."

Four years later, Steier lined up for his final state meet.

The course was in his own backyard -- Ed Radice Park in North Tampa. And this time, everybody lined up against Steier -- not to mention fans scrunched against fences along the course -- knew who he was.

Since that sprint in '98, the Buccaneers senior had earned two state titles and become a target for runners from Miami to Pensacola.

Steier has competed in races around the nation, finished eighth in the World Junior Track Championships in Hungary and established himself as one of the most successful runners Florida has produced.

Ironically, his final cross country event ended in a sprint too. Fittingly, he was on the winning side.

Steier held off rival Ryan Deak from Tallahassee Maclay, edging ahead in the last 30 meters to win by .50 seconds. Steier carried home title No. 3 despite a 15:35 performance that was his slowest championship time in four seasons.

Even that couldn't dampen the hoopla surrounding Steier as he walked out of the chute and into the crowd of people waiting to pose for pictures with him and congratulate Steier on his career.

"It was definitely a relief when I crossed the line a couple weeks ago," Steier said. "I think I had more pressure this year than any year before.

"I never really envisioned winning three state titles; I was kind of taking it one year at a time. Each year was never to win it again; it was just to win it for that individual year."

The week after state, Steier ran in the Foot Locker Cross Country South Region Championships in Charlotte, N.C., placing 11th and missing the cutoff for a spot in the National Championships, this past weekend.

He hasn't chosen a college. But with the nation's fastest three-mile time for a prep, a 1,450 SAT and 3.9 GPA, Steier earned official visits to Duke, Stanford and Princeton.

He appears unfazed by his many achievements. Much like his mentality on the cross country course, Steier remains even keeled, always thinking he could do better.

"I've had a couple of things I would have liked to have done better in," Steier said. "But overall, it's definitely been successful."

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