SOUTH BEND -- For the third time in a row, Josh Rohatinsky finished first overall and helped guide the Cougars to a fifth place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational.
Men's coach Ed Eyestone simply described Rohatinsky in one simple, but powerful word, "Fearless."
The sophomore ran the 8K event in a time of 23:40, edging out Notre Dame's sophomore Kurt Binningen by three tenths of a second.
"Josh is the guy, who brings it when he wants too," said Eyestone. "With under a mile to go, Josh put a move on the leader and pushed himself till the race was over. The guy left people in his wake."
Rohatinsky, who was the MWC Freshman of the Year in 2001, has simply been a force to be reckoned with, since returning home from his mission in Uruguay in 2003.
"Josh is capable of some pretty amazing things," Eyestone said.
Coming in fifth place, with a time of 23:48 was senior Bryan Lindsay.
"Bryan passed ten people over the last mile and really finished strong," said Eyestone. "I was very pleased with how we ran overall as a team.
The Cougars finished with 126 points, but another Mountain West Conference opponent, the Air Force Academy, finished one spot ahead of the Cougars. The falcons knocked the four time MWC Champions off the podium last year when they beat the Cougars at the MWC Championships.
"It's good to find out about Air Force this early," said Eyestone. "Instead of at the MWC Championships. It's hard to cheer against the Cadets when you know they're the one's putting themselves in harms way in defending our country."
Last years All-American Nathan Robison competed in the race, despite recovering from an ankle sprain and a cold. Robison finished with a time of 24:43, which placed him 52nd overall.
"Two of the guys who should be in the top five finished low," said Eyestone. "When we get 100 percent healthy, were going to be in a great position to finish well."
Others who ran well are freshman Chandler Goodwin, senior Chad Durham and junior Nick McCombs. Goodwin finished 34th overall, with a time of 24:26. Durham placed 42nd overall, with a time of 24:35 and McCombs placed 44th overall, with a time of 24:35.
"I'm excited with how the race went today," said Eyestone. "This is good for us, because it keeps us hungry and determined to get better each week."
2004 Notre Dame Invitational
Final Results Men's 8K
Rank Team Total
1. Stanford 89 2, 10, 17, 23, 36
2. Notre Dame 95 2, 13, 14, 20, 46
3. Butler 112 8, 16, 19, 32, 37,
4. Air Force Academy 113 9, 10, 21, 28, 43,
5. Brigham Young 126 1, 5, 34, 42, 44,