Since he was a child growing up in Central Point, Ore., Bryan Berryhill dreamed of donning green and winning an NCAA title in front of friends and family at historic Hayward Field.
Berryhill accomplished his goal Saturday, but it turns out he was wearing the wrong shade of green.
The Colorado State senior led from start to finish in the 1,500 meters at the final day of the NCAA Track and Field Championships, winning the second title of his collegiate career with a time of 3:37.05.
“I couldn’t dream of a better ending to my collegiate career,” said Berryhill, a five-time state champion at Crater High School who was over-looked by Oregon coaches. “I looked at the schedule long ago and knew my last NCAA meet would be here. I truly did want to come here [for college]… but it’s worked out the best for me.”
After finishing the 1,500 third in the last three NCAA championships, Berryhill set the tone early in front of 5,932 fans Sunday, sprinting to the lead from the gun.
“This was as nervous as I’ve ever been before a race,” Berryhill said of running in front of about 50 friends and family. “The fans were loud. It was hard to tell if they were cheering for me to finish or cheering because it was going to be a good race.”
In the final 300 meters, Stanford’s Gabe Jennings, the defending 1,500-meter champion, made a strong kick, but could not catch Berryhill in the final stretch.
“I gotta hand it to Berryhill,” said Jennings, who finished in 3:37.56. “He’s one tough son-of-a-gun.”
Alabama’s David Kimani, running a step behind Berryhill for most of the race, was third and Stanford’s Michael Stember and Don Sage rounded out the top five, respectively.
“You don’t have to wait for Alan Webb’s generation [to see American distance running return to glory],” Jennings said. “We’re going to take this thing to the top.”
Jennings also finished third in the mile behind Berryhill at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. Berryhill won that race with a time of 3:56.84.
Berryhill and Jennings, along with Webb — the 18-year-old sensation from Virginia who broke Jim Ryun’s 36-year-old high school record in the mile at the Prefontaine Classic last weekend — will return to Hayward Field in three weeks for the U.S.A. Track and Field Championships.
“I feel like I’ve really been on this year,” Berryhill said. “I’ve run PRs in my last five races and I hope I can keep it going and make the World Championship team.”