Y. track teams anticipate good showing at NCAA

PROVO — Despite producing 28 All-America athletes in the past 14 years, the BYU men's track and field team has not cracked the top 10 at an NCAA outdoor championship meet during that time.

But with the nation's top-ranked pole vaulter and triple jumper and six more athletes projected to score points, the Cougar men and women both are in position to have a strong showing at the 2005 championships, in Sacramento, Calif., which begin this morning and continue through Saturday.

"I really feel good about our team and who we have here," head coach Mark Robison said. "Almost everybody has been to national meets, so they bring with them some experience and are able to breathe easier at these meets."

While Robison's men will be trying to break into the top 10, the Cougar women will be trying to improve on a sixth-place finish at the Indoor Championships in March with many of the same athletes.

"I don't predict outcomes," women's head coach Craig Poole said. "The only thing I want to see is that they perform up to their best level. The competition is very good, it just depends on who's on and who's off."

The Cougar men will be led by triple jumper Rodrigo Mendes and pole vaulters Robbie Pratt and Trent Powell. Mendes and Pratt are favorites to win their events, while Powell is ranked No.5. Mendes, who has been using a short approach for most of his senior season, is still trying to break the team's oldest record, set in 1968 by Pertti Pousi.

"There's no reason to mess with anything he's doing at this point," Robison said. "Two weeks ago at regionals, his second jump was a foul, but it was a monster."

On the women's side, four of BYU's athletes are expected to earn points, including senior Aneta Lemiesz in the 800 meters and freshman Heidi Magill in the 1,500. And after losing both of last year's All-Americans in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Rena Williams-Chesser and Lisa Antonelli-Pratt will try to keep the Cougars' streak of four consecutive years with a top-eight finish in the event.

"I don't know if there's an advantage," Poole said. "She (Pratt) has more confidence and knows how to handle the situation, but Rena has had such a feisty attitude, I'm sure she'll do what she needs to do."