The saying "Different horses for different courses" doesn't only apply to racers with four legs.

Tom Slosky has become something of a horse for the track team at Duquesne University. A senior, he has put his name in the Dukes' record book four times, but has made his mark in one event in particular.

A Highlands High School graduate and Brackenridge resident, Slosky has developed into one of the better steeplechase runners in the NCAA Division I ranks. He competed in the NCAA finals in the event last year and has his mind made up that a return trip is in order this spring.

The 3,000-meter steeplechase is unique, and one of the tougher races in college track. It's seven-and-a-half laps around the track with four 36-inch hurdles and one water jump that have to be cleared. The race requires speed, hurdling technique, endurance and the ability to run with pain.

It's not a race for everybody and Slosky didn't think he would be any good at it when he first gave it a try.

"I did a lot of sports when I was in high school and you have to be kind of athletic to run the race well," he said.

"We looked at Tom when he was a freshman and thought he might do well in it," Duquesne coach Bryan Delsite said. "You need to be a distance runner, but you also need to be a tough kid. Tom has really found his niche in the steeplechase."

That isn't to say that Slosky isn't good in other races ... he is. He just happens to be exceptional in the steeplechase.

He has run the race once so far this season, at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina the final weekend in March, and he finished first with a time of 8 minutes, 51.57 seconds. It wasn't as fast as the 8:43.39 he ran at the NCAA championship trials last year in Sacramento, Calif., but it was better than the 9:07 qualifying time needed for this year's NCAA championships.

"That's an excellent time for his first race of the season," said Jim Lear, who coaches the distance runners in track and is the Dukes' cross country coach in the fall. "He probably won't run another steeplechase until May."

It was Lear, a veteran distance coach who has worked at Pitt, along with Delsite who convinced Slosky to give the steeplechase a try. Lear said Slosky might be Duquesne's best in a couple other events.

He wouldn't be afraid to toss Slosky in any race from the 800 all the way up to the 10,000 meters. Slosky has the university record in the 1,500 (3:48.37), which he set at Bucknell last year, and in the 5,000 (14:08.38), which he set at another meet at Bucknell. And he has his name in the record book as a member of the 4 by 1,500 relay.

This fall, Slosky won the Atlantic 10 cross country title, holding off La Salle's David Alfano down the stretch. Slosky won despite falling with about 300 meters remaining and became the school's first men's individual cross country champion.

He then went on to place sixth at the Mid-Atlantic Regional and became the Dukes' first cross country runner to qualify for and compete in the NCAA championships. Slosky admits that he was never big on running cross country.

"Yeah, he sort of came to grips with that this year," Lear said. "The thing about him is that he's just a very determined runner. He'll stick with it and stick and stick and that's why he's so successful in the steeplechase, where you have to have that kind of attitude."

Lear added that Slosly has a stop-and-go ability that many distance runners lack. He showed it in winning at the Atlantic 10 cross country championships and has shown it in the steeplechase.

"He has the ability to gather himself quickly and get going again," Lear said. "That's important in the steeplechase because there are times when you get stopped by one of the barriers."

While doing well at the NCAA championships is Slosky's primary focus -- he finished well back in the finals last year because of a back problem -- it is not his ultimate goal.

This is an Olympic year and Slosky believes he can make the U.S. Olympic trials June 27 through July 6 in Eugene, Ore., in the steeplechase. The "A" qualifying time is 8:32 with a "B" qualifying time of 8:45. An "A" time earns a runner an automatic spot in the trails; a "B" time and an individual makes the trails if runners are needed to fill out the competition.

"I think I can get B standard," Slosky said. "I'm not that far away and I pretty much ran that last year. I think the A standard is within reach."

Lear agreed: "I think he can get in 8:35, 8:36, 8:37 range. I've always tried to find a couple guys to run the steeplechase in the spring because a lot of runners shy away from the race and it's a good way for [the team] to pick up some points in a meet. I thought Tom would do well in it, but I've been surprised just how well he has done."