There were times in the race when Angelica Peck considered landing in the deep end of the water hazard ... and staying there.

Competing in a race when the temperature is 95 degrees will do that to a runner. But Peck kept her cool and placed third in the 2,000-meter steeplechase in the intermediate girls' division (ages 15-16) at the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, N.C., last week.

A member of the Beaver County Track Club, Peck finished in 7 minutes, 31.25 seconds. Destiny Jenkins of New York won the event in 7:11.73.

"I thought I'd place well since I ran it last year and had more experience," said Peck, a junior at Blackhawk High School who placed sixth at the Junior Olympics last year. "I thought I could place in the top three ... that was my goal."

At the USATF Region 2 meet in Jamestown, N.Y., earlier last month Peck ran the steeplechase in 7:19.28, which bettered the meet record of 7:59.12 she set a year ago.

This was only the second summer Peck has run the steeplechase, which requires runners to clear four barriers plus the water hazard barrier each lap. It's an event she has fallen in love with.

"When I was younger I did the hurdles in track club," Peck said. "So, going over the barriers wasn't that hard for me. The steeplechase is a race I'd like to do in college."

Peck developed into one of the better distance runners in the WPIAL as a sophomore this past school year. In cross country she was ninth overall at the WPIAL Class AAA championships and was 39th at the PIAA finals in Hershey.

In track, she placed second to Latrobe's Natalie Bower at the WPIAL Class AAA meet in the 1,600-meter run.

That's one of the reasons she has done well in the steeplechase. The race requires the stamina of a distance runner and the athletic ability of a hurdler.

To get ready to run the steeplechase, Peck would run 800-meter intervals on the track at Beaver High School -- that's where the Beaver County Track Club practices -- with hurdles every so often or she would do a long run through the streets of Beaver.

"The combination helped get me ready for the race," said Peck, who gave the multi-event pentathlon a try when she was younger but had trouble with the shot put, which figures since she is built like, well, a distance runner.

When Peck, who lives in Chippewa, hasn't been training for the steeplechase, she has been running 5K and 10K road races in preparation for the cross country season.

She won a 5K race in Salem, Ohio, and was the fourth female to cross the finish line at the Ellwood City Festival 10K (6.2 miles).

"I really like running road races. I just enjoy the atmosphere ... the people. I really wish there were more 10K races out there to run," she said. "Cross country is my first love. I like track, but I really like cross country."

With that in mind, she has worked this summer to get a little faster and stronger, which should also help in the steeplechase.