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O'Neil pines for another Pear crown By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN Six-time Pear Blossom Run women's champion Deanna O'Neil couldn't go for a seventh title last year. "I wasn't even there, and it hurt," says O'Neil, who has been bothered by a severe hamstring injury for more than a year. "I wanted to be there. I missed it more than I thought I would." Today, O'Neil is back in Medford and ready to run in another Pear Blossom Run race. Still trying to heal from the hamstring injury, she will be back in the Pear Blossom women's field for the 23rd edition of the race at Medford City Hall. O'Neil will be considered one of the favorites in the 8:45 a.m. race. "My hamstring still bothers me, but I'll be ready," says O'Neil, who won the women's title in the Shamrock Run in Portland on March 14. She won the 8-kilometer race in a time of 27:55. "That win gave me some confidence, and I'm coming down (to Medford) to win. I'm in pretty good shape." O'Neil, 34, and her husband, Jeff, annually stay with Dave and Stacy Boals of Medford during Pear Blossom weekend. "We have a lot of fun down there with them, and it would make it even more fun if I can win, or at least run well and feel good.'' O'Neil says she will take a run at her own women's course record today if she's feeling good and the conditions are conducive. "I know it's not going to be too hot," says O'Neil. "I just hope it warms up some and it's not too wet. "I set the record (in 1995) on a morning when there was snow in the foothills of Medford. So maybe I might do it again. You never know. We'll have to see how it goes." O'Neil has the fastest projected time of any woman in the field at 58 minutes. Defending champion Cheryl Tronson submitted a projected time of 1:02. She won last year in 1:00.42. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.