THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 25, 1994 TAG: 9412230272
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
WHEN HE WAS younger, Rolf Steier took up his present hobby and ran with it.
Now, four years down the road, the journey has taken him to a national championship.
Steier is the national AAU Junior Olympics bantam cross country champion.
Running under the New Energy Tidewater Striders banner, Steier captured the crown earlier this month at the national championships in Hammond, Ind. He was fifth last year in his first attempt.
No other Tidewater Strider youth runner has ever won a national title.
And to think Steier is only 10 years old.
The new crown also gives the Linkhorn Park fifth-grade honor student All-American honors. Teammate Christopher Mather finished 20th in the field of 281 bantams (9-10) and also earned All-American status.
New Energy - with Steier, Mather, Ryan Kent (54th), Neil Duffy (95th), Derek Rodenback (104th) and Graham Kearney (108th) - took sixth out of 29 teams. It was the first national competition for Duffy and Rodenback.
``I think, as a team, we could have done better,'' coach David Bowden said. ``A team from New York ran away with first, but the battle between second and seventh was very close.
``Everybody was so excited for Rolf. Nobody could believe we actually had a national champion.''
Nobody, except Steier.
After about 100 yards on the mostly-flat 3K (1.8 miles) course, Steier began to make his move. About 500 yards into the race, he took over first, passing defending champion Hamud Shahid of New York and two other runners.
``I glanced back a little bit in some of the turns and realized I had a pretty good lead,'' said Steier, who finished fourth in the 800 and third in the 1,500 at last summer's national AAU youth track and field championships in Gainesville, Fla.
``I kind of knew I was going to win about halfway through the race. I knew for sure on the final straightaway.''
The straightaway for Rolf has come naturally.
The youngster got involved in running at 6, becoming interested in the sport during daily jogs with his father - Fred, himself an accomplished runner for the Tidewater Striders and an assistant youth coach to Bowden.
``Basically, my dad got me into running,'' Steier said. ``He let me race one day and I liked it. It's just fun, but I guess I'm pretty good at it. I can almost beat him now.''
``He's getting a little too close,'' Dad chimed in.
Running has other advantages to Steier - increasing his stamina in soccer. Steier plays for the Beach FC U-11 United - a team he says won its league and about a third of the tournaments it entered.
``They always have Rolf marking the fastest striker on the other team because of his running abilities,'' Dad said. ``The two kind of go hand-in-hand.''
To qualify for the national meet, Steier captured first in the state meet held on his training turf at Mount Trashmore.
``Running on the hills really helped me, I think,'' Steier said. ``I probably trained for hills more than I should have, because the course at nationals was so flat.''
Bowden thinks his champion was in such good form, it wouldn't have mattered where the race was run.
``He would have been ready for anything,'' Bowden said. ``I think he would have done even better on hills. But Rolf is such a tough, determined kid. He would have won anywhere.''
For now, Steier is taking a break before late winter training, letting his accomplishment sink in.
``I guess this was a nice Christmas present,'' he said, smiling. ``I'm the first one from around here to do something like this. This is something I want to stick with because I like it so much. I'm looking forward to high school cross country running, too.
``Yes, I'll keep running.''
At least until he finally beats Dad. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by LEE TOLLIVER
Rolf Steier, 10, won his 3K national title, running for New Energy
Tidewater Striders. ``Basically, my dad got me into running,''
Steier said. ``He let me race one day and I liked it. . . . I can
almost beat him now.''
by CNB