Before the Larry Ellis Invitational in 2007, Kyle Heath asked Syracuse head coach Chris Fox if he could run the steeplechase, even though he had only run the event once in his life, during his junior year of high school. After some consideration, Fox agreed, and Heath won the event in Princeton, N.J.

‘I wasn’t a standout in high school in the steeplechase or anything,’ Heath said. ‘I think it was my junior year, we were going to a Princeton meet, and I randomly asked coach Fox if I could do the steeple. I ended up doing the steeplechase and getting 8:56 and getting the school record, and it kind of just took off from there.’

Little did Fox know, two years later, Heath would become one of the top steeplechasers in the country. This weekend, Heath returns to the site of his first college steeplechase attempt as the Orange goes to Princeton for this year’s Larry Ellis Invitational April 17. Another group of athletes will travel to nearby Cortland for the Cortland Classic.

‘He is a good example of what we hope happens to kids when they come here,’ Fox said. ‘He was kind of a goofball when he got here. He didn’t have that much success and didn’t really get the sport. Now he has figured it out, and he treats it like a professional.’

Last year at the NCAA Championships, Heath set the school record for the steeplechase and became the first SU distance All-American since Jim O’Connell in 1983. He came in sixth overall with a time of 8:38.03.

This year, the goal for Heath is to return to Nationals. Heath is currently ranked No. 3 nationally for the steeplechase by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Heath has already had one run at the steeples this year. He came in second place four weeks ago at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. He posted a time of 8:40.89, good enough to qualify for the Big East and IC4A Championships – two events he won last year.

Heath considers last year’s Big East and IC4A championships as his biggest accomplishments, but he has high hopes for a better outcome this year. The Big East meet begins May 1 in Philadelphia, followed by the IC4A May 16 in Princeton.

‘I’d like to win another Big East title in it (the steeplechase). I’d like to win another IC4A title in it,’ Heath said. ‘The big goal is to win a national title.’

Heath was the top steeplechaser in the Big East Championships last year and qualified for a chance to run at the U.S. Olympic team trials in Eugene, Ore.

Heath finished in ninth place in the first heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase trials and ended up coming in 17th overall. He posted a time of 8:39.51 and was four seconds shy of qualifying for the final heat.

‘It was a great experience, running with the best guys in the world,’ Heath said. ‘That’s why I’m sticking around here the next two or three years to train under coach (Chris) Fox and (assistant) coach (Brien) Bell and make the dream happen. I’m going to just try and give it another run at the trials in three years.’

At the end of the year Heath’s NCAA eligibility will be up, but he plans on staying in Syracuse to train with the staff for the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials, with the hope of extending his track career running on the sport’s grandest stage.

‘He has to keep training like he does,’ Fox said. ‘We up the volume each year, as you get older, and he’ll do that. A lot of it is just physical maturity. A lot of stuff will happen between now and when he is 25 years old. He’ll develop and gain strength. If he can train consistent, 70 to 90 miles a week, for the next three years, it will pay off.’

rwmarfur@syr.edu

Published on April 13, 2009 at 12:00 pm