Travis Berryhill of American Canyon started off well in a Bay Cities Racing Association/USAC midget program last month at Shasta Raceway Park, a 3/8-mile paved oval which is located at the Shasta County Fairgrounds in Anderson.

Berryhill qualified 15th in a 25-car field in the “Sprit of American Canyon.” Berryhill had a qualifying time of 15.273 seconds (88.391 mph average). He was also second in a heat race.

Berryhill started on the fifth row inside for the 40-lap BCRA/USAC main event. Berryhill’s night, unfortunately, ended on lap 11 when a cylinder died and he pulled the car to the infield.

An inspection of the engine in the pits found a broken spark plug, and further evaluation upon returning home revealed even worse news. There was a broken intake valve.

Berryhill’s last race of the season is at Madera Speedway on Oct. 21.

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Justin-Siena High School was ranked No. 7 in the Redwood Empire football rankings — which are assembled by Cal-Hi Sports correspondent Harold Abend — going into Friday night’s Marin County Athletic League game against Tamalpais-Mill Valley. The Braves are 5-0 under coach Rich Cotruvo following Friday’s win.

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Lindsay Brown, a Napa High graduate, and Megan Moore combined for 51 assists as Sonoma State beat Humboldt State, 3-2, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball match at Seawolf Gym in Rohnert Park Wednesday night. Sonoma is 7-8 overall, 4-7 in league.

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The No. 10-ranked UC Berkeley women’s soccer team will host the Ghana Women’s National Team Tuesday at 11 a.m. in an exhibition at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley.

The teams will scrimmage for two 30-minute halves. The scrimmage is open to the public and admission is free.

The Ghana “Black Queens,” who played in the 1999 and 2003 Women’s World Cups, will face the San Francisco Nighthawks, a Women’s Premier Soccer League team, in an exhibition game on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Justin-Siena High School.

Ghana and the Nighthawks will also put on a free clinic, which is open to boys and girls ages 6 to 18, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. before their game at Braves Field at Justin-Siena.

Ghana is in the Bay Area, training daily and also participating in different events as the Queens continue to prepare for the African Women’s Championships, a World Cup qualifier, in November in Nigeria.

The 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be played in China from Sept. 10-30.

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Mike Gibson of Napa is listed atop the depth chart at offensive tackle for UC Berkeley going into today’s Pacific-10 Conference football game against No. 11 Oregon. Kickoff is 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

It’s Homecoming for the No. 11-ranked Bears (4-1 overall, 2-0 Pac-10).

Gibson, a Napa High graduate and transfer from Solano Community College-Suisun, has started the last two games at right tackle on the offensive line for the Bears, who will try to extend their winning streak to five games.

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Anyone from the Napa Valley who is fortunate enough to advance to the CIF Northern California Championships for girls golf won’t have to travel very far. Yolo Fliers Golf Club in Woodland will host the event on Nov. 6.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.