By Neil Schmidt
Enquirer staff writer

For Mary Danner, the hardest part is the uncertainty.

What finish will it take to make the Olympic team? What time?

The 24-year-old sprinter, a Walnut Hills and University of Cincinnati grad, will pursue an Olympic berth at the track and field trials beginning today in Sacramento, Calif. But there's a limbo stage in her quest - three weeks of waiting - she would like to avoid.

"I want to try to make the top six and not be in that limbo," she said.

Danner represents Cincinnati's best hope in the Trials, largely because of relay possibilities. The top three finishers in each event qualify for Athens; from the 100- and 400-meter events, additional runners are chosen to fill out the 400 and 1,600 relays, respectively.

Wyoming grad David Payne, who just finished his UC career, is a long shot in the 110 hurdles, as is Amelia grad Andrea Morgan in the 800.

Danner is seeded 12th in the 400 - which begins with quarterfinals Monday - with a time of 51.54 seconds.

The U.S. team will name a relay pool of six to 12 runners from her event - depending on how many the team's coaches think merit consideration - that it will take to Europe. It will take a final look at candidates in an Aug. 8 meet in Munich, Germany, after which it must name its relays.

Traditionally, six runners (the maximum) are named to each Olympic relay.

"She has the potential to make the team," U.S. relay program director Brooks Johnson said of Danner.

In Danner's case, the key next week is advancing at least to the eight-woman finals. Finishing sixth or better would make a relay spot hers to lose. Making the top six could require a time less than 51 seconds; six women own such seed times.

Danner began to emerge last year, placing fifth in the Indoor Nationals. That earned her a national team spot, and she anchored the U.S. team's bronze-medal 1,600 relay at the 2003 World Indoors.

She had some injuries last year, but improved after moving to San Diego in October to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Johnson is her coach.

"This year I came back and said, 'I want to be where these people are. I want to make this team,' " Danner said.

She has dropped 1.08 seconds this year.

"She just recently started to believe in herself," Johnson said. "That's been the biggest obstacle toward her reaching her potential, which is the sub-50 (seconds) range."

Payne, Danner's former UC teammate, earned All-American honors this year with a sixth-place NCAA finish. He's tied for 17th in the seedings (13.53 seconds). The 110 hurdles is the U.S. team's best event.

The 110 hurdles begin with a qualifying round July 17.

Morgan, the NCAA Division II runner-up in the 800 last year at Findlay College, faces a difficult field. Her time of 2:03.25 is 14th, and the top four runners have times less than two minutes. Morgan will run a quarterfinal tonight.

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com