North’s Steineman eyes bright future after achieving as freshman
Summer has not brought with it a reprieve for North Catholic distance runner Jack Steineman, and he’s not complaining.
Following a freshman track season that saw him break North’s school record in the 3,200-meter run, the Adams Township resident competed at New Balance Nationals, held June 19-22 in Philadelphia.
In the 2-mile race, he placed 11th out of 57 of the top incoming sophomores from around the country. In the mile, he finished 38th out of 90.
Runners qualify for the event based on their times during the high school season. Steineman’s school standard of nine minutes, 37.31 seconds in the 3,200 came at the state championship in late May. That broke his previous record of 9:37.74, which came at the Butler Invite in mid-April.
“He ran a 9:38 in the 2-mile and that equates to a 9:34 in the 3,200,” North distance coach Tim Souders said. “In the mile in Philly, he ran (4:30.30), and that converts to 4:28 in the 1,600.
“This year, we were very cautious with Jack when it came to training because of a stress fracture in his shin from junior high. Everything he did this year was off basically half the mileage of what his main competitors were doing.”
Steineman did not let the abbreviated runs keep him from achieving as a first-year varsity runner. He qualified for states in cross country in the fall and earned a WPIAL medal in both the 1,600 and 3,200 to reach PIAAs in those events in the spring.
He also qualified for the indoor 1,600 at New Balance Nationals in February.
Steineman said he is completely healthy now and optimistic about what a full training schedule could lead to.
“I’m planning on competing in several 5 and 10Ks this summer, keep my legs moving and hopefully get up to 50 miles per week,” he said. “Having the freshman season I did definitely adds pressure, but it helps to have a teammate, Tyler Carroll (incoming senior, state qualifier), to push me. I’m prepared for the workload.
“I used to play soccer, too, but quit in the eighth grade. I realized I’d be better off sticking just to running, been doing it for about seven years and could tell early on that I had potential.”
Steineman began working with Souders in seventh grade.
“He was running for St. Kilian’s at the time. I started giving him workouts to do and knew he was going to be a strong runner at the varsity level,” Souders said. “The longer the distance, the better he gets.”
“He’s put so much time and effort into helping me improve,” Steineman said. “Believe me, I could not appreciate him more.
“I thank God for my ability and the opportunities I’ve had,” Steineman said.
