Utah runners at nationals

Runners from BYU, Weber State and Southern Utah will be vying for a title today at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

The BYU men's team picked up an automatic bid for today's meet by finishing second at the Mountain Regional earlier this month, while the BYU women and Weber State women earned at-large invitations based on their overall performance this season.

Seth Pilkington of Weber State and Jess Baumgartner also earned individual spots in today's race based on their finishes at the Mountain Regional.

For BYU men's team leader Josh Rohatinsky, there is a chance to make history in today's meet. Rohatinsky, who will be going for his third straight All-American honor, is undefeated in races this year.

A win today would make him the first Cougar runner to go undefeated and capture a national title since his coach, Ed Eyestone, accomplished the feat in 1984.

"I think it's very exciting," Eyestone said. "I think I can enjoy the process and watch him a little bit more than when I did it. I was a little stressed out, and I was relieved when I won it. But this is fun for me, very fulfilling as a coach."

Rohatinsky had a cold early last week, and other runners had some flu-like symptoms following the Mountain Regional, but Eyestone said they all appear to be feeling better and the team is in a position to reach its preseason goal of a top-four finish at this meet.

"I think that's still very obtainable, and certainly that's our goal going into it," he said. "You can't control other teams' races, but you just go out and run the best race you can."

The BYU women will be led by another former All-American hoping to recapture the honor in junior Kassi Andersen. Andersen has led the Cougars in every race she has run this year and finished first overall in every race except the Mountain Regional, where she finished third.

The Weber State women, meanwhile, will be attempting to remain perfect on team goals for the season. Women's coach Jim Blaisdell said the team set four goals for itself back in June: to win the Big Sky Conference, be nationally ranked, qualify for the NCAA Championships and finish in the top 20 at that meet.

"They're a very goal-oriented team, and they've completed three out of four," Blaisdell said. "Hopefully, after (Monday), they'll be four for four."

Blaisdell expects team leader Lindsey Anderson to excel in her final meet as a Wildcat and finish in the top 50 overall. The team's position, however, will be decided by the tight pack of runners behind her.

"We run as a group ... the girls have done that well all season," Blaisdell said. "When one is feeling down, the others run by her and say, 'Come on, you can do it. Come with us."'

The women's race will be run first today at 10 a.m. MST. The men will follow at 11:15 a.m.

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E-mail: jtwitchellx@desnews.com