What makes Kassi Andersen tick? What drives one of the world's top female steeplechasers?

If we could open a Velcro seam and peek into the heart and mind of this BYU junior, perhaps we'd all understand what it is that fuels the legs of the defending NCAA champion, who has posted the fastest time (9:48) in the event this year.

Or, we could just ask those who know her best: her parents, Randy and Kathy Andersen, and veteran track coach Patrick Shane.

Kassi Andersen has always been driven, determined and competitive, according to her mom. She remembers her first race, a competition among kindergarten kids in Las Vegas, who had to hold the hand of a parent as they crossed the finish line. Kassi won, and yes, she hung on to her mother's hand all the way.

"It set a precedent in her mind," said Kathy. "It was her sport, she would run, and she wanted to win."

Since then, she has worked her guts out. At Provo High, she won eight track titles, including state championship cross country medals as a junior and senior. She doesn't shirk the hard stuff. She covers her miles and intervals like clockwork and the road work comes, mile after mile, whether it's a snow or windstorm.

Since that first childhood victory, Andersen has just kept winning, fueled by a philosophy of sorts from her grandfather, former LDS general authority Hartman Rector Jr., a strand or two of DNA and a healthy competitive push from five older brothers.

While Kathy believes her daughter may get her determination from her, the athletic ability comes from her father. Randy was the Nevada state cross country champion his senior year and posted a 4:10 mile while at Las Vegas High.

This outdoor season, Kassi Andersen already has defeated Toledo's Briana Schook, the defending United States champion, at the Cardinal Invitational and is on track to break the U.S. record in the steeplechase (9:41), held by former Cougar Elizabeth Jackson. The NCAA championship meet record holder in the steeplechase at 9:44, Andersen is expected to surpass the world's best time by an NCAA athlete, a 9:42 by BYU junior Michaela Mannova, a native of the Czech Republic, who posted that time in Europe last June.

Grandfather Rector, a former Navy serviceman, always preached to his children and grandchildren and over the pulpit how important it was to win — to win in life — and that God would direct their path if they'd only follow Him.

The word "win" kind of chimed a chord in Kassi Andersen.

Elder Rector used to quote a poem in his sermons, a prose by an unknown author, to emphasize the importance of victory. The words have been embedded into Kassi Anderson from the time she could crawl.