Cougs' Rohatinsky captures 3rd race in row; BYU 5th

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the third time in as many cross country meets, Josh Rohatinsky finished first overall and helped guide Brigham Young University to a fifth-place finish Friday at the Notre Dame Invitational.

Men's coach Ed Eyestone simply described Rohatinsky in one simple yet powerful word: "Fearless."

The BYU 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 to," 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, the 2001 MWC Freshman of the Year, has been a force to be reckoned with since returning home from his mission in Uruguay in 2003.

Coming in at fifth place, with a time of 23:48, was senior Bryan Lindsay.

"Bryan passed 10 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 were one place behind defending Mountain West Conference champion Air Force Academy.

Nathan Robison, a 2003 All-American, 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.

Other finishers included freshman Chandler Goodwin (34th, 24:26), senior Chad Durham (42nd, 24:35) and junior Nick McCombs (44th, 24:35).

BYU WOMEN FINISH FOURTH: At Cary, N.C., the Cougar women's team finished fourth Friday afternoon at the Great American Cross Country Festival Friday afternoon.

"I can't remember the last time we came in fourth place at a meet," said coach Patrick Shane. "This really was a tough meet."

Battling the heat and humidity, three-time All-American Laura Turner led the Cougars and finished fourth overall among a field of 154 runners.

"Laura ran really well today," Shane said. "She's a seasoned veteran who's a tough runner to beat. She really looked strong out there."

The senior finished the six-kilometer event with a time of 17:04.55, with an average mile time of 4:34.8. Duke's Shannon Rowbury took the overall title as well as helping guide the Blue Devils to first place overall.