Gain Through Pain U-Hi Titan Jason Berger Wins In Clash With Injuries

The five concussions he received in football and wrestling didn’t scare University High senior Jason Berger into track and field.

Berger has always been an outstanding sprinter.

Injuries, however, in part delayed Berger’s emergence as one of the state’s best until this year.

At Horizon Junior High he set Valley Activities League records in the Class B 100 and 200 meters in seventh grade, and Class A 100, 200 and long jump as an eighth-grader.

He didn’t improve greatly on those marks until this year, when he compiled stunning 10.7 and 21.6 season bests. Those times are an improvement of .3 second in the 100 and more than a second in the 200.

“To tell the truth, I never thought I could run 21.6,” said Berger. “Maybe 21.9 with a tailwind, and even at that I thought I’d be pushing it.”

During last weekend’s regional meet he qualified for four events to this weekend’s state meet in Tacoma.

Berger won the 100 and set an electronically-timed regional record 10.83. He finished second in the 200 below the previous meet record.

Both Titan relay teams, of which Berger is a part, also are running in state. The quartet lowered its school record 4x100 time to 42.18 and approached the school record with a 3:21.6 4x400 effort in the regional.

Still, the beginning of the season looked like it could be a repeat of the previous three, when niggling injuries kept Berger from full form.

After a superb indoor season, a back injury kept him out of early outdoors practices.

“It was looking like another season where I would run with pain or not at all,” Berger said. “It was killing me.”

A month into the season, however, a finally healthy Berger made dramatic drops, to 22.0 in the 200 and to 10.78 in the 100 at a meet in Hermiston, Ore. There, he also ran the 400 in 49.63.

Titan coach Keven Frandsen attributes the improvement by Berger and his sprint teammates to senior maturity.

“It’s not like he came out of nowhere,” said Frandsen. “It’s the first year he’s gotten it all together.”

Berger says it is because of increased dedication to weight lifting.

“Lifting a lot made a big difference,” he said. “Last winter I gained a good 12 pounds. And before, I didn’t lift with my legs at all, to be honest.”

He also ran indoor track during the winter season at area colleges.

“We went to most indoor meets and I don’t know if he lost a short dash at all,” said Frandsen. “He paid his dues early in the season, is what happened.”

Another help has been the addition of sprint coach Vic Wallace, a former college teammate of Frandsen’s.

“He knows everything you can imagine about sprinting,” said Berger. “Anything technical, he has the answer.”

Berger wrestled for two years until suffering a concussion his junior season.

He played three years of football before head injuries curtailed his senior season.

“I still wanted to play,” he said. “They wouldn’t let me.”

It didn’t take another blow to the head to find out where his aptitude truly lay.

This weekend, at Star Track in Tacoma, Berger and company will see how far speed can take them. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: STATE QUALIFIERS Central Valley Girls: Whitney Schmaljohn, 200, 400 relay, 800 relay, 1,600 relay; Leslie Merideth, 400, 800 and 1,600 relays; Stephanie Crace, 400, 800 and 1,600 relays; Wendy Wagar, 1,600 relay; Amy Nickerson, 400 relay, Rebecca Kochendorfer, 800 relay. Boys: Rob Warnock, 800; Marc Hinckley, high jump; Josh Kruse, pole vault.

University Girls: Julie Schroeder, long jump, triple jump, Casey Lektorich, javelin. Boys: Jason Berger, 100, 200, 400 relay, 1,600 relay; Anthony Buchanan, 400 relay; Tim Buchanan, 300 hurdles, 400 relay, 1,600 relay; Paul Salcido 1,600 relay; Mike Turner, 400 relay; Jake Roberts, 1,600 relay.

East Valley Girls: Christy Blindauer, discus; Crystal Gerky, high jump, 1,600 relay; Ann Marie Adams, 800, 1,600 relay, Korinda Godwin, 800, 1,600 relay; Becky Gahl, 1,600 relay; Loretta Serbell, shot put. Boys: Cory Haskins, pole vault; Jerry Claridge, long jump, triple jump, 400 relay; Ken Skogen, discus; Brandon Blize, 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 400 relay; Adrian Likely, 400 relay, Trevor Eastman, 400 relay; Jake Kammers, 300 hurdles; Andrew Burgess, high jump.

West Valley Girls: Stacey Roberts, discus; Cindy Simpson, 100 hurdles, 200, 400 relay, 800 relay; Staci Adams, 100, 300 hurdles, 400 relay, 800 relay; Rhonda Barney, 100, 400 relay, 800 relay; Jessica Riehle, 1,600, 3,200; Erica Frampton, 400 relay, 800 relay. Boys: Rick Collins, pole vault; Devion Tensley, long jump, triple jump; Vinnie Pecht, discus; Clayton Holmes, 1,600, 3,200; Mike Schroder, javelin; Ryan Stockton, shot put; Ryan Schroder, high jump.

Freeman Girls: Sarah Pratt, 400, 1,600 relay; Sadie Kalstad, 1,600 relay; Jami Harless, 1,600 relay; Kim Davey, 1,600 relay. Boys: Jason Harless, 300 hurdles.

Valley Christian Girls: Carmen Evans, 100, 100 hurdles, 400 relay, 800 relay; Katie Rosholt, 400 relay, 800 relay; Crystal Robertson, 400 relay, 800 relay; Katie Arnold, 400 relay, 800 relay. Boys: Jared Evans, 300 hurdles; J.J. Gass, discus.