North Catholic’s Jack Steineman has big goals for WPIAL, PIAA cross country races despite one runner’s clear advantage
One might say Jack Steineman knows his limitations — or more accurately who runs in his way.
The North Catholic junior last week won the TSTCA Class 2A Cross Country Championship at White Oak Park with a time of 15:29.62. His personal-best and fastest time this season is 15:27, which he ran while winning the Hoka Night Cross Country Showcase earlier this fall at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
He topped a field of 421 runners in the Hoka event.
And with all of that?
“If I have my best day on a course and Jonah (Montagnese of Quaker Valley) has his worst, I might be able to beat him,” Steineman said. “That guy is on a level all by himself.”
North Catholic cross country head coach Tim Souders said Montagnese and State College’s Luke Bradbury are the two best runners in the state “and are among the top 10 in the country.” Bradbury competes in Class 3A while Steineman and Montagnese are in 2A.
Montagnese is the reigning WPIAL and PIAA 2A champion.
“In Class 2A, I believe Jack is the second-best runner in the state,” Souders said.
Steineman may concede Montagnese as being on a different level, but his level is pretty good in its own right. He placed third in the WPIAL and PIAA championships as a sophomore.
“My goal is to finish higher at WPIALs and states than I did last year and, of course, take a shot at winning it,” Steineman said. “Get my personal best down as low as I can get it.
“The good news is that I’m only a junior. Jonah won’t be around next year. That’s when I want to get my time under 15 minutes and set myself up for the next level.”
That would be running cross country and track in Division I.
Steineman isn’t sure of his collegiate destination yet, but he wants to major in business. He is carrying a 4.28 GPA while taking weighted courses at North Catholic.
“He’s been winning consistently all season,” Souders said. “At the PIAA Foundation meet, he ran a 15:55.3 and was second to Jonah. He’s done very well at some very big meets. He was feeling under the weather at the Red, White and Blue Classic and still finished fourth.”
A Mars resident, Steineman grew up running cross country as a student at St. Kilian Catholic School in Cranberry Township. He played soccer until eighth grade when he “realized I wasn’t that good at soccer.” Distance running is now his only sport, and he trains by raining 60 miles per week during the summer and 45-50 during the season.
“I saw my best potential was in running,” he said.
“If I can hit 15:20 before this season is over, I’d love it. Just keep progressing, another year older, another year faster.”
Souders has been impressed with Steineman from the day he entered high school and has not been surprised by anything he’s done.
“He made states as a freshman in cross country, and that’s so hard to do, a 14-year-old running against 17- and 18-year-olds,” the coach said. “St. Kilian is a feeder system for us, so I knew we’d be getting an impact runner. Jack has not disappointed at all.
The WPIAL Cross Country Championships will be held Thursday at White Oak Park. The PIAA Cross Country Championships are Nov. 7 at Big Spring High School in Cumberland County.
