The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: Sports

In this Nov. 2, 2006 file photograph CSU cross country coach, Bryan Berryhill, runs with his team.

In just two seasons, cross country head coach Bryan Berryhill has transformed his team and won numerous coach of the year awards in the process. Now he can add one more to his shelf -- the Moby for the 2007-2008 coach of the year.

In October, the women's squad won the Mountain West Conference Championship and Berryhill was named Women's Coach of the Year. A month later, his team went to the NCAA Regionals in Ogden, Utah and won an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The victory was cause for the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association to name him the Mountain Region Coach of the Year.

"(The best part of the season was) winning the conference championship for the first time," Berryhill said with the championship plaque proudly displayed on his desk.

For the first time in the school's nine-year association with the conference,CSU was able to defeat the defending champion BYU Cougars, a team that had earned the title 19 years in a row previously.

In Ogden, the women, having realized their ability in "getting over that barrier" against BYU, were able to defeat powerhouse and instate rival, Colorado. The team went on to take 15th in the NCAA Championships. Berryhill, a 2001 graduate of CSU, was a two-time NCAA champion and a 10-time All-American in his time with the Rams.

Sportswriter Rachel Knox-Stutsman can be reached at sports@collegian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools