Elation, frustration at track nationals

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In-state athletes came away with a mixed bag after the first two days of the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

A little elation and a little disappointment has been the story thus far, as a number of Utah's collegians have advanced to compete in finals today and Saturday. Some, however, saw their seasons come to an end.

The marquee event Thursday was the 10,000-meter run, where BYU's Josh Rohatinsky and Whitney McDonald entered with championship hopes. A slow start in both the men's and women's races, however, hindered their efforts.

"In an NCAA championship race, there's a high probability that it's going to go out slow like that," Rohatinsky said. "When they really got going, I made one or two pushes to go with them and knew that it wasn't in the tank."

After riding the rail in fifth place most of the race, Rohatinsky finished in eighth place with a time of 29:12.64.

McDonald told a similar story. She ran with the pack through the first five miles at a slower pace and finished sixth (33:26.33).

"It's frustrating, because we went out really slow," McDonald said. "But I was glad that when they picked it up I could go with them. I'm an all-American. I have to be happy with that."

BYU's men advanced the most athletes of any Utah school. Four Cougars have moved on to compete in finals today and Saturday. Chandler Goodwin turned in a season-best time of 8:41.76 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to advance to today's final. Weber State's David Olson also moved on in the event with a time of 8:42.28.

Mountain West Conference champion and all-American David Pendergrass will compete in today's finals in the high jump after clearing a height of 6 feet-10 3/4 inches to advance, while junior Bryce Bergen failed to clear the opening height.

Junior Matt Weirich moved on for BYU in the pole vault, clearing 16-10 3/4 in preparation for today's final. And on Wednesday, senior Nik Arrhenius, one of BYU's best hopes for an individual title, advanced to today's final in the discus with a throw of 193-2.

Weber State's Lindsey Anderson turned in the top qualifying time in the steeplechase, finishing in 9:56.14. Teammate Sariah Long also advanced with a time of 10:05.42, while senior Heidi Bouwhuis was just one spot away from today's final, turning in a time of 10:10.77.

"Lindsey ran very well and was really relaxed during the race," WSU coach Jim Blaisdell said. "They will both now advance to the finals and we'll see what they can do there."