Ryan Gil would be the first to admit that experience breeds confidence.

Last summer, Gil got involved in running the 2,000-meter steeplechase in the USA Track & Field Junior Olympic qualifying races thanks to North Allegheny High School teammate Pat Morgan. Gil qualified for the Junior Olympic championships and ended up finishing third in the intermediate boys division (15 and 16 year olds).

At the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics two weeks ago at the Irwin Belk Track at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C., he won the race in the intermediate boys division with a time of 6 minutes, 19.73 seconds.

He was the first to admit that last summer he wasn't sure what he was doing in the race.

"The first time I ever ran the event was last summer," said Gil, a cross country and track standout at North Allegheny. "It was just different this year. I had a better idea of what I was doing."

North Allegheny graduate Will Appman ran the same race in the young men's division (17 and 18 year olds) at the Junior Olympics and finished a solid sixth in 6:29.22. Appman is headed to Penn State.

"Will ran right after I did, so we were kind of cheering for each other," Gil said. "He did a pretty good job."

Gil is going into his junior year at North Allegheny and his first-place finish at the Junior Olympics only solidified what WPIAL track and cross country coaches already knew. He is one of the top distance runners in the area if not the state.

He placed third in Class AAA at the WPIAL cross country championships last fall and was 20th at the PIAA finals in Hershey. In track, he was fourth in the WPIAL in the 1,600-meter run.

Gil thought he had a good chance to win the steeplechase this year because the two runners who beat him last summer moved to the next age group.

"[The steeplechase] is just a much different race than other races because you get tired more quickly," he said. "It takes a high toll on your quads."

That's because of the four barriers and the water hazard that have to be cleared on each lap. Being able to have jumping ability so as to land in the shallow end of the water pit also puts added stress on the legs.

When track coaches go looking for steeplechasers they want distance runners who are athletic. The steeplechase distance is usually 3,000 meters, but is cut to 2,000 for younger runners.

The barriers that have to be cleared, unlike normal track hurdles, do not move. Gil said he stepped on the top of just about all of the barriers in winning.

"I was just more comfortable going over them this year," he said.

Gil also went into this year's race -- there were two heats at the Junior Olympics and he was in the faster of the two -- with a better game plan.

"I got off to a good start and was in second place for the first two laps," he said. "It's important to get off to a fast start because you want to be one of the leaders going into the first water hazard. If not, it can get congested going into that first hazard."

He took the lead at the start of the third lap and held off any challengers after that.

His time of 6:19.73 wasn't close to the national youth record of 6:02.84, but it wasn't bad. Had Gil run in the young men's division with Appman, he would have placed second with his time. David Smith of Texas was the young men's winner in 6:18.97.