PROVO -- BYU distance runner Josh Rohatinsky was named Mountain West Conference Men's Co-Athlete of the Week after breaking the MWC Indoor 3,000 meter record by nearly seven seconds at the UW Indoor Invitational on Saturday.
Rohatinsky ran the fastest collegiate time of the year the 3,000m. His time of 7:51.28 was an NCAA automatic qualifying mark and the third fastest time in BYU history, trailing only Olympians Ed Eyestone and Doug Padilla.
"He's got an incredible career ahead of him," BYU men's track coach Mark Robison said. "He'll be an All-American. He's just an incredible kid."
Robison said the race started out on a very fast pace, which contributed greatly to the record-setting time. Rohatinsky ran well toward the end of the race, finishing second to Adam Goucher, an Olympian in 2000, who runs on the post-collegiate circuit.
BYU senior Bryan Lindsay finished just two seconds behind Rohatinsky to earn an NCAA automatic qualifying mark as well. Robison said Rohatinsky and Lindsay did really well considering the level of competition in the race.
"There were a lot of good people in the race," Robison said. "It was very exciting. Both our guys really kicked it in at the end."
After a rough indoor season last year, Rohatinsky will look to make his mark on the rest of indoor season, especially at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March at Fayetteville, Arkansas.