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Berryhill mended, ready for U.S. trials By Don Hunt After sitting out much of the spring with a strained hip flexor muscle, Bryan Berryhill says he�s fully recovered and ready to compete at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at Sacramento, Calif. The trials begin today and run through July 23. Berryhill, a former Crater High standout who just completed his junior year at Colorado State University, has entered both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. "I�ve had five full weeks to work out hard, and that�s about what it takes to get in the kind of shape I need to be in," Berryhill says. "I�ve been doing some good, hard intervals on the track. I�m ready to go." One of Berryhill�s toughest workouts would put most people in the hospital, if not the grave: 20 straight 400-meter sprints, each completed in less than 60 seconds, with two minutes of walking/jogging in between. Berryhill, 22, finished third in the 1,500 at the NCAA championships in June. More recently, he took fourth at the adidas Classic in Portland and was second in the 800 at a race at Stanford last weekend. His best times this year are 3:40.2 in the 1,500 and 1:48.0 in the 800. He�ll likely need to run much faster � in the 3:37 range in the former and the 1:45 range in the latter � to finish among the top three at the trials and earn a berth on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Sydney, Australia, in September. Berryhill�s best chance is in the 1,500. He�s been the runner-up each of the past two years at the NCAA indoor meet. He�s also finished third the past three years at the NCAA outdoor meet, and he�s taken sixth at the USA championships the last two years. The 1,500 qualifying race is today, with the final on Sunday. Two qualifying races are scheduled in the 800 � next Thursday and Friday � with the final set for Sunday, July 23. "Of all the races, I think the 1,500 is one of the most wide-open," Berryhill says. Senaca Lassiter, who has a best of 3:33.72, David Krummenacker (3:36.20) and reigning NCAA champion Gabe Jennings of Stanford (3:37.33) are considered the leading candidates to secure the three Olympic berths. A slower pace would likely benefit Berryhill, who has one of the strongest finishing kicks in the field. He was a three-time state champion in the 400 and a two-time state champ in the 800 while at Crater High. "If I�m in the hunt with 200 or 300 meters to go, then I like my chances," Berryhill says. "A slow pace would favor me, but if that happens, then you�re leaving everyone in the race." Berryhill has yet to return to his form of a year ago, when he went to Australia and registered lifetime bests in the 800 (1:46.98) and the mile (3:56.52). "It�s disappointing that I have yet to get back to that level � I haven�t hit the times that I�ve wanted to run this year," he says. "But I�ve got to just keep plugging away. "Running can be an up-and-down sport. You can run the same times over and over, and then all of a sudden you pop the big one. And hopefully that big one will be this Sunday." Berryhill needs just 18 more credits to obtain a degree in forestry at Colorado State. But he plans to keep running and will likely join the grand prix circuit in Europe next summer. He�s also looking ahead to the 2004 Olympics. "A couple of guys I�ve run with in college who have since graduated are making $100,000 (per year running in Europe)," Berryhill says. "If you�re good and you can find some sponsors, the money is there." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA