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Ex-Grizz qualifies for trials By KRIS HENRY The third time proved to be the charm for Ian Solof. The former Ashland High standout qualified for the Olympic Trials in only his third marathon Sunday at the California International Marathon in Folsom, Calif. Needing to come in under 2 hours, 22 minutes, the 28-year-old crossed the line at 2:21:25 to earn a spot in the May 7 trials in Pittsburgh. Solof, now an assistant coach for the University of Portland's cross country team, was a member of Ashland's 1990 state-championship cross country team. He also competed at Portland. Solof's first attempt at the marathon was merely to see what the experience was like. He had loftier goals in his second attempt last February, only to be slowed by a stomach flu. Sunday, everything seemed to come together. "I felt pretty good and the conditions were great," Solof said. "(Qualifying) was definitely my goal. I knew that there would be a number of other guys in there trying to run the same thing, but I figured I had a good shot at it. I've been training really hard." That rigorous training still left Solof on the outside of another important time, however. His expenses to the Olympic Trials would have been reimbursed had he run under 2:20.00. "At the end of a race like that, you're hurting so much there's not a whole lot you can do about it," Solof said of his costly extra one minute and 25 seconds. "Basically, I was just trying to hang on and get across the finish line." Solof said about 100 men have qualified for the marathon trials, with qualifying still open until April. Despite gaining one of the prestigious bids in the marathon, the event is still a relatively new to Solof, who has competed mostly at 8 and 10 kilometers. "I think the marathon is probably the event that I have the most potential at on the national level, but it's probably the one I have the least experience with," he said. "I'm more of a stamina-type runner. Endurance is my strength. I don't really have speed for short distances, not that 6 miles (10K) is really a short distance. It's just a different pace than the marathon." Solof doesn't think the pace set at the Olympic Trials in May will favor someone new to the game. "I certainly don't expect to be one of the top guys in the trials race," he said. "I'm not thinking about that at all. I'm more interested in trying to run a good race and place as well as I can." At 28, Solof believes he will have several chances to someday fulfill his dream of running in the Olympic Games. "Most of the top marathoners are in their early-to-mid 30s, so hope I can keep working my time down and keep improving over the next few years," he said. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.