Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week

Berg’s serious training leads to fun results

By: Justin Feil
   Chris Berg has a lot of fun with his looks. He’s had nearly every color of the rainbow in his hair at some point or other. The West Windsor-Plainsboro High North junior is sporting white currently, and it’s not from being overexposed to the pool’s chlorine.
   "He’s got a little bit of a wild side," said Knight swim team head coach Cheryl Reca. "He likes to dye his hair different colors or shave his head and do different things with it. He’s a bit eccentric. It’s all for fun."
   One thing that Berg is taking more seriously this year is his swimming, and it’s helped him have more fun in the pool. In September, he began working out with the Hamilton YMCA club team to be better prepared for the winter season. It’s paid off quickly.
   Berg set records in the 100 free as part of the 400 free relay, 200 free and 500 free in the Knights’ opening meet win over South Brunswick. He was also a member of the winning 200 medley relay, in which he swam the butterfly leg. Berg won the 200 and 500 free and was again part of the winning 200 medley when the WW-PN boys handled Manalapan, 119-49, last Tuesday.
   Chris Berg is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   "I came into the season wanting to break the 100 record," Berg said. "Matt Wise, a senior this year, had it. The other two records were ones I held from last year."
   By coming into this season in better shape and with some extra coaching behind him, Berg was able to better his top times from a year ago along with Wise’s best 100 free time. Those records could fall again. The Knights were scheduled to face a difficult East Brunswick team Thursday before traveling to WW-P South 4 p.m. Tuesday.
   "Good competition always brings faster times," Berg said. "I’d be happy if I broke them again. It depends (Tuesday) who they have swimming."
   Berg has shown the ability to keep up with some of the fastest swimmers as he came on at the end of his sophomore season. This year, he’s started at a higher level.
   "He ended up last year doing really well in the Mercer County Championships," Reca said of Berg. "He came back and did pre-season with the Hamilton Y. It really has helped him immensely. He had to play catch-up to the club swimmers last year. He made the commitment this year to do some extra work. He’s improving each time we swim."
   In WW-PN’s win over Old Bridge on Tuesday, Reca put Berg in his "off events." He won the 100 butterfly, which he was seventh in last year at the MCC, placed second in the 200 IM and was part of two winning relays.
   "He’s definitely mainly a freestyler, but he can pretty much swim anything," Reca said. "He’ll do the butterfly for us in the medley relay and he’s been doing the freestyle, but he can swim IM, too."
   Berg is well-rounded outside of the pool, as well. He began competing two years ago in triathlons with his father, and he continues to enter the races that combine swimming, cycling and running.
   "I did two this September," the 17-year-old said. "One was in Sandy Hook and the other was in Delaware. At Sandy Hook, I placed second to a teammate, Will Shu. In the one in Delaware, I was third in the 19-and-under (division).
   "Triathlons are great. It’s a good test of human endurance. You have to keep going no matter what."
   Berg has used his endurance training to become a faster swimmer, along with the extra work with the Hamilton Y team. It’s set him up for a solid junior campaign.
   "I definitely feel I’m in a lot better shape this year," he said. "I was in good condition and then I got a lot of help. The Hamilton coach has improved my stroke.
   "I like the freestyle the best. I want to do the 200 free in counties and probably the 100 fly again and two relays. The 500 free is tough. Their are a lot of fast guys in our county. Hopefully, I can do better."
   And he’s well on his way to faster times thanks to getting a little more serious about his training.