FORT COLLINS -- Both the men and women's cross country teams are heading back to the NCAA Cross Country Championships next weekend, after the Cougars both finished second at the NCAA Mountain Regionals, in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The No. 11th ranked women keep their streak alive of 15 consecutive trips to the NCAA championships, as the No. 9th ranked men head back for their sixth straight visit.
Men's coach Ed Eyestone and women's coach Patrick Shane added their teams ran their best races of the year.
"We had one of our best races of the year," Eyestone said. "It was a controlled race for us, we didn't push it to the point of exhaustion.
The men competed in their first 10K race, which saw them finish with a score of 62 points, just 22 points behind No. 4th ranked Colorado.
Josh Rohatinsky did what he has done all year; the sophomore finished fourth overall, with a time of 29:52.7 Right behind Rohatinsky, was teammate Brian Lindsay. The senior finished the race with a time of 30:07.3, which claimed him a sixth place finished overall.
Both Rohatinsky and Lindsay earned NCAA Mountain Region honors, as did three other teammates. Nathan Robison finished with a time of 30:18.3, placing him 14th overall. Dustin Bybee finished with a time of 30:39.8, placing him 21st overall and Chad Durham placed 25th overall, with a time of 30:42.5.
"I'm proud of the guys," Eyestone said. "We have some room to improve, but the guys are feeling good about the race. This is the first time, since I've been at BYU, that we've had five runners make the NCAA Mt. Region team."
As for the women, they finished with a score of 54 points, just 22 points behind No. 3 ranked Colorado.
"We had a 28 second separation between our number one and number three runners," Shane said. "What we need to do is get our fourth and fifth runners a little bit closer, if we can do that we are a good team."
Laura Turner once again led the women as she finished the women's 6K event, with a time of 20:31.6, which placed her third overall. Not far behind Turner, were teammates Heidi Magill and Rena Chesser.
Magill finished sixth overall, with a time of 20:52.8 as Chesser finished seventh, with a time of 20:59.0.
Turner, Magill and Chesser along with teammates Amber Harper, Julie Cameron and Jami Caldwell each earned NCAA Mt. Region honors.
Harper finished 17th overall, with a time of 21:30.0. Cameron placed 21st overall, with a time of 21:43.8 and Caldwell finished with a time of 21:51.5, which was good enough for 25th place.
"We got out and stayed with the front runners today," Chesser said. "We're improving each week and we're excited to go back to nationals."
"We set very high goals this year," Eyestone said. "We want to be one of the top four teams in the country. In order for us to do that, everyone is going to have to run their best race of the year."
2004 NCAA Mt. Region Cross Country Champs
Collingdale Golf Course
Fort Collins, Colorado
Men's 10K Event
1.Univ of Colorado-Boulder 2, 4, 10, 11, 13 = 40
2.Brigham Young Univ. 3, 5, 12, 19, 23 =62
3.US Air Force Academy 8, 17, 22, 25, 34 =106
4.Univ of New Mexico 1, 7, 38, 44, 46 =136
Men's NCAA Mt. Region Honors -(Must finish in the top 25)
Place Name Time
4 Josh Rohatinsky 29:52.7
6 Brian Lindsay 30:07.1
14 Nathan Robison 30:18.3
21 Dustin Bybee 30:39.8
25 Chad Durham 30:42.5
Women's 6K Event
1. Univ of Colorado-Boulder 1, 4, 5, 10, 12 = 32
2. Brigham Young University 3, 6, 7, 17, 21 = 54
3. Colorado State University 14, 19, 31, 32, 33 = 129
4. Utah State University 16, 18, 23, 34, 38 = 129
Women's NCAA Mt. Region Honors -(Must finish in the top 25)
Place Name Time
3 Laura Turner 20:31.6
6 Heidi Magill 20:52.8
7 Rena Chesser 20:59.0
17 Amber Harper 21:30.0
21 Julie Cameron 21:43.8
25 Jami Caldwell 21:51.5