Annessa Schnur Steele

This is the sixth in a series of articles profiling the 2015 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.SLIPPERY ROCK — Annessa Schnur Steele wasn’t born to run.It just seemed that way.The 2000 Butler graduate participated on the winning 4x100 meter relay team during her first-ever track meet in sixth grade. She went on to become a 12-time WPIAL champion, seven-time PIAA medalist, never lost a dual meet in high school and helped the University of Michigan win five Big Ten track and field championships.That body of work and more has landed Steele in the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. She will be inducted during the organization’s annual banquet April 25 at the Butler Days Inn.“My whole family has always been into sports,” Steele said. “My father (Tom Schnur) played football, baseball and ran track at Butler. My sister (Megan) was a swimmer and ran the 400 meters. My brother (Evan) was a wrestler and was a thrower in track.“I remember writing my sister’s times downs. I was hoping someday I’d be able to beat them.”She wound up beating most people’s times almost all of the time.Despite being out of high school 15 years, Steele remains among the top five all-time in Butler County in nine different events. She is part of the county record-holding 4x400 and 4x800 meter relay teams. Her time of 55.7 seconds in the 400 remains a county record and she is the county’s all-time leader in the long jump.Steele’s county-record 400 time also stood as the WPIAL mark for nine years.“My sister and brother are six and five years older than me, so I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do in sports,” Steele said. “I could always run. My speed helped me do a lot of things.”Besides her track and field accomplishments, Steele lettered for three years in basketball and was a two-time all-section soccer player. She played forward in soccer.“All I did was run in front of everybody, get the pass and try to kick the ball in the goal,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I had very good soccer talent. I was just fast.”The Golden Tornado’s girls basketball team finished 4-20 during her freshman year. The team won the section championship her senior season.“Jonna Burke took over as (basketball) coach right around my freshman year,” Steele recalled. “She was an awesome coach and had a huge impact on my life.“Her toughness and high level of competitiveness are definitely characteristics I took from her.”During Steele’s four years on the Butler girls track team, the Tornado put together a 57-0 won-loss record. That unblemished mark was in jeopardy during a late-season meet against North Allegheny.Having never run the hurdles in her life, Steele petitioned coach Mike Seybert to put her in the event that day.“I was scheduled to run in the 1,600 relay, which we were going to win anyway,” Steele said. “We needed the points in the 300 hurdles. At first, Coach Seybert said no, he didn’t want to risk me getting injured.“Then he looked at his scorecard and let me do it.”Not only did Steele win that event. Her time of 44.7 seconds is still the third-fastest in county history.“My form wasn’t the best,” she said, laughing. “I just ran as fast as I could between hurdles, then jumped. The 300-meter hurdles are spread out enough that I could get away with that.”Steele helped Michigan become the first women’s track team to ever win four consecutive outdoor Big Ten titles.She was there for three of them, along with two indoor conference crowns.“It takes a fully committed team to go undefeated in duals all the way through high school,” she said. “I saw that same team commitment at Michigan. That’s why I went there. The support system was fantastic.”Now an English teacher at Butler High School, Steele coached the Tornado girls to WPIAL team championships in 2010 and 2011.She is not coaching now, but may try to enter collegiate coaching at some point.“Winning those (WPIAL) titles as a coach was more exciting for me,” Steele admitted. “As an athlete, you play a small part ... As a coach, you’re preparing an entire team.“Watching that team develop and succeed is very rewarding.”Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Tickets are available at Bill’s Beer Barn and Snack-N-Pack in Butler, Moses Jewelers at the Clearview Mall, Parkers Appliance in Chicora and Saxonburg Drug.