Bryan Steele competes at NCAA Championships

6/11/04 -- Sophomore Bryan Steele (Gaithersburg, Md.) competed in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas.

Steele raced 50.93 seconds in his preliminary heat, just missing a berth in the final by 0.24 seconds. The four-time Northeast Conference Athlete of the Week was making his first trip to the NCAA Championships after running 50.18 seconds at the East Regional on May 29 in Gainesville, Fla.

LIU's Co-Athlete of the Year and an All-NEC winner in the 400-meter dash, Steele made it three straight years a Blackbird competed at nationals. Richard James did so each of the last two years in the 400-meter dash, which included an eight-place finish last season to become the school's first male All-American in track and field.