As strong as Steele.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

As an athlete, Dan Steele has always thrived in the underdog role.

He was the brakeman on the four-man bobsled team that captured the bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, the first medal won by the U.S. in that event in 46 years, and the first ever by a sled coming in as a second seed.

In the decathlon at the 1999 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field, the unheralded Steele moved from fifth to third with a stirring performance in the final event, the 1,500 meters, to clinch a spot on the world team.

At the 1992 NCAA Championships, the Eastern Illinois senior ran a near-perfect technical race, and deftly avoided a fallen Derrick Adkins in the final 50 meters, to claim the national title in the 400 hurdles.

None of those scenarios was considered likely, or even possible, by the so-called experts.

But they didn't know Steele, or his twin brother, Darrin, for that matter, so they couldn't understand the competitive instincts that have driven Steele throughout his diverse athletic career.

`My whole life, my twin brother and I would create fantasy sports scenarios where we would overcome impossible odds to win something,' said the Oregon assistant track and field coach, in his second year with responsibility for men's sprints, hurdles and relays.

Given Steele's background, it's not too surprising that he has molded one of the nation's top sprint and hurdle crews at a school - and in a climate - not known as a sprinter's paradise.

Check out the results from the NCAA indoor championships last month, when the Oregon men placed sixth overall with a school-record 29 points, including 12 from the sprinters and hurdlers.

Steele plans to use those performances as a springboard to the outdoor season, which begins Saturday with the 16th annual Pepsi Team Invitational at Hayward Field, a four-way battle between Oregon, Indiana, Washington and Missouri.

He credits former UO assistant coach Steve Silvey with doing the bulk of recruiting that brought the current talent to Eugene, a group that already holds UO outdoor records in the 4x400 relay and 110-meter high hurdles, plus indoor records in the 200, 400, 60-meter hurdles and 4x400 relay.

It's an outfit that has remained focused despite the turmoil that surrounded the recent departure of head coach Martin Smith, who reached a resignation settlement with Oregon on the eve of the Preview meet nearly three weeks ago.

`I met with the group (after the meet) and we had a very frank discussion,' Steele said. `I told them we have one of the best sprint and hurdle crews in the country, and in life, you will find that achieving excellence is really, really hard, so when you have a chance to be great at this level, you have to go at it as hard as you can, and worry about next year after the season is over.'

In the hurdles, the Ducks start with junior Eric Mitchum, who stands No. 1 on the UO all-time list in the 110-meter highs with a time of 13.38 seconds. He placed second at last year's NCAA meet after sweeping the Pac-10 and West Regional titles. Mitchum also ranks ninth on the all-time UO list in the 400 hurdles (51.27).

`I think Eric is as physically talented as any athlete in the country,' Steele said. `He's still learning and has plenty of room for improvement. ... We will not be complacent or content with his past successes.'

Mitchum gets pushed in practice each day by junior Akobundu Ikwuakor, who transferred to Oregon last season after competing as a freshman for Colorado. Third in the high hurdles at the Pac-10s, he qualified for the NCAA meet with a fifth-place performance at the West Regional.

Ikwuakor also was a key member of Oregon's 4x400 indoor relay which placed fifth overall at the NCAA meet after setting a school record of 3:04.17 the prior week.

`Unless the same guys break it next year, that record could stand forever,' Steele said.

The other relay members are junior Travis Anderson, senior Kedar Inico and junior Matt Scherer. Ikwuakor stepped in as a replacement when injuries sidelined junior transfer Richard Del Rincon and senior Roderick Dotts, and Scott Lamb chose to focus on youth ministries after Christmas.

`AK has done a great job for us, and he's not content with being second best to anybody,' Steele said. `People don't realize what we went through to get to AK in the relay; he stepped in and shocked everybody.'

The sprints have movable parts, but sophomore Jordan Kent and Del Rincon - a former football player and California JC champion - are expected to handle the 100 and 200, while Inico steps into the 200 and 400.

Scherer, who has moved up to No. 3 on the all-time UO chart in the 400, will focus on that distance, along with Anderson, who has been the lead-off leg for the Ducks' record-setting 4x400 relays for the past two years.

Oregon cracked the 3:04 barrier four times outdoors last season and the current record of 3:03.49 will be a regular target as the weather heats up.

Scherer ran a 44.4 split on the anchor leg of the Ducks' school-record indoor relay, and his plan is to `reshuffle the deck' on the Oregon all-time 400 list. Otis Davis ranks No. 1 (45.07, 1960) and Pat Johnson is second (45.38, 1995).

`That's select company, but he's not content with being third on that list,' Steele said. `Matt does everything right. He's incredibly dedicated, eats right, gets sleep, is a good student and he wants to be great.'

The wild card for Oregon could be Kent.

Although Kent hasn't competed in a track meet since the 2003 NCAA championships, Steele knows it won't take the basketball standout too long to be ready for the shorter sprints and challenge for a spot on the relay.

`The best-case scenario for Jordan is that he starts the season off running shorter events in meets and training for longer events in practice. By the time of the Pac-10s, regionals and nationals, we want him to be strong, fit and well-trained enough to do anything from the 100 to the 400,' Steele said.

`He knows he has to work hard to make it on the 4x400 relay because nobody will hand him a spot. On the other hand, if all goes well with his training, it will be really hard to keep him off the team. He's that good.'

DUCKS AT A GLANCE

Coach: Dan Steele, second season, men's sprints, hurdles,

relays.

Top returners: Eric Mitchum, jr., Calumet City, Ill., hurdles; Akobundu Ikwuakor, jr., Arvada, Colo., hurdles, relays; Kedar Inico, sr., New York, 200, 400, relays; Matt Scherer, jr., Sumner, Ill., 400, relays; Travis Anderson, jr., Arvada, Colo., 400, relays; Jordan Kent, soph., Eugene (Churchill), 100, 200, 400, relays; Roderick Dotts, sr., East St. Louis, Ill., relays; Sol Rexius, soph., Eugene (Churchill), hurdles; Caleb Rexius, soph., Eugene (Churchill), sprints.

Top newcomer: Richard Del Rincon, jr., La Mesa, Calif., 100, 200, relays.

Noteworthy: The record-setting Oregon 4x400 relay placed fifth at the 2004 NCAA outdoor meet and fifth at the 2005 indoor meet ... The Ducks' quartet beat Arizona State and Baylor at the Iowa State Last Chance meet on March 5 to set the school indoor record of 3:04.17 with a lineup of Anderson, Inico, Ikwuakor and Scherer ... Del Rincon won the California JC title in the 100 last spring (10.53) and took second in the 200 (21.09) ... Oregon's 4x100 relay will include Inico, Del Rincon, Anderson and either Kent or Scherer.

UO TRACK AND FIELD 2005

Friday: Bill Lawson leads the Ducks' decathletes and recruiting efforts

CAPTION(S):

Dan Steele (standing) has a deep squad of sprinters returning this season, including hurdler Eric Mitchum (from left) and sprinters Kedar Inico and Matt Scherer. Mitchum finished second at the NCAA meet last season after winning the Pac-10 and West Regional titles. Thomas Boyd / The Register-Guard Kedar Inico (from left), Travis Anderson, Akobundu Ikwuakor and Matt Scherer will lead the Ducks' charge for a national title in the 4x400 relay this spring. The Ducks finished fifth nationally last year in the event.