GROVE CITY — Sarah Cessar had a rule when it came to running.

It was fine — as long as it served a purpose.

“I always thought, ‘It’s not that fun,’” Cessar said. “I didn’t mind running after a soccer ball or a basketball.”

But running just for the sake of running? No thanks.

Things change.

Cessar, a Slippery Rock High graduate and a sophomore at Grove City College, is now running for the Wolverines women’s track and field team.

Leave it to Cessar, though, to find an event that isn’t all about the running.

Cessar, who is also a member of the Grove City women’s soccer team, is competing in the steeplechase, a 3,000-meter race that involves hurdles and a water pit.

“It keeps me on my toes,” Cessar said.

And she’s been quite good at it.

Cessar broke the school record in the event earlier this month, running a time of 11 minutes, 38.15 seconds. Her time is the second fastest in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference this season.

“I think it takes a different type of person to run that event,” said Grove City men’s and women’s track and field coach Todd Gibson. “She’s as fearless and as tough as any person I’ve coached. It’s sort of becoming her thing.”

It almost wasn’t.

Cessar had no intention of joining the track team until her roommate, Grove City High graduate Shannon Bishop, talked her into it.

“It was between water polo and track,” said Cessar, who also played basketball at Grove City College for one season. “That’s the beauty of a Division III school. You can compete in many different sports and compete well.”

Cessar, though, is surprised by her early success in the steeplechase.

When she set the school record, she was trying to chase down Megan Donovan of Waynesburg, who has a conference-best time of 11:16.07 in the event.

“I was just trying to keep up with her,” Cessar said. “I had no idea I was running that fast.”

Cessar is still raw in the event. She struggles with the four hurdles she must get over during the course of the race and the water pit, a challenge for even the most experienced steeplechasers, often swallows her.

“I get wet a lot,” Cessar said. “Even the guys have trouble clearing it.”

Cessar, though, shows no fear — something Gibson sees as a prerequisite for success in the steeplechase.

“If you do it correctly, you should barely clear it,” Gibson said.

Grove City is also blessed with another talented runner in that event. Sophomore Laurel Skorup has the fourth-best time in the steeplechase in the PAC.

Cessar and Skorup push each other at practice. It’s a perfect scenario, said Gibson, who wonders just how good Cessar can eventually be with more seasoning.

“Sarah’s the type of person who is willing to take on any challenge,” Gibson said. “She’s very competitive and very athletic and talented. The most exciting part for me is I have her and Laurel for two more years to push each other. I hope that record goes back and forth between them a few times because that means they are both running faster.”