TERRE HAUTE -- Senior Chelsea Smith McKell finished 24th and junior Josh Rohatinsky finished sixth as BYU's women's and men's cross country teams finished eighth and 13th, respectively, in Monday's NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Coming into the race the women were ranked No. 8 in the nation and finished eighth for the second season in a row. The eighth-place finish also marks the 11th consecutive season the Cougars have finished in the top 10.

"It was a tough race out there with great competition," women's head coach Patrick Shane said. "It was the strongest field that I can ever remember in terms of competition. I'm proud of our eighth-place finish. I think the girls had a great year, and it's a real honor to be in the top 10 at nationals."

Stanford captured the women's title (6K), finishing with 146 points. Defending national champion Colorado placed second with 181 points and highly touted Duke finished third with 185. Arizona State came in fourth scoring 191 points and Illinois snuck into the top five with 212 points followed by Michigan (250), Notre Dame (252) and BYU's eighth-place finish came with 288 points.

McKell's 24th-place finish came with a time of 20:24.0, which earned her All-America honors.

"I did what I expected to do," McKell said. "I knew I could do it if I prepared well. I have no regrets. I went as hard as I could and I tried my very best. I feel great because we can go home happy."

McKell was followed closely by teammate and Mountain West Conference Champion Heidi Magill, who finished 39th with a time of 20:32.8. The Cougars' third runner was Breanne Sandberg, who came in 83rd with a time of 20:59.8, followed by MWC Freshman of the Year Amy Fowler, placing 99th (21:10.1), and Anne Heiner, who finished the scoring for BYU with a 139th-place finish (21:26.2).

On the men's side, Wisconsin ran away with the title (10K), scoring 37 points. Arkansas came in second with 105 points followed by Notre Dame (178), Iona (205), and Colorado, who rounded out the top five with 222 points. The Cougars' 13th-place finish came with 416 points.

Individually, MWC Champion Josh Rohatinsky came out strong and finished with a time of 29:40.2 (sixth overall), earning himself All-America honors for the second year in a row.

"The main thing is just getting out good, and I was surprised I got out as well as I did," Rohatinsky said. "That was key in how I raced today. Some of the other guys didn't race as well today, but this is one race. Those guys have proven themselves all season. You can't base a season on this one race."

Finishing second was Chandler Goodwin, who ran what men's head coach Ed Eyestone termed "the race of his young life." Goodwin got out fast and held on well to finish 36th with a time of 30:16.9, just enough to pick up his first cross country All-America honor. Josh McAdams was the Cougars' third runner finishing 131st with a time of 31:17.5, followed by Nick McCombs finishing 172nd (31:39.0) and MWC Freshman of the Year Jacob Gustafsson, who finished 177th (31:42.3).

Eyestone said he felt just fine with the performance of his team.

"I thought it was a great team effort, particularly for Josh," Eyestone said. "Josh put himself out in the hunt, and he ran like a big dog. He ran with the pack and then when things started stretching out, he had the courage to break ahead. As a team, this was not our best race, but the bottom line is everybody tried their best. We're a strong team. We'll reload and get 'er done next year."

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY WOMEN
24   Chelsea McKell    20:24.0
39   Heidi Magill      20:32.8
83   Breanne Sandberg  20:59.8
99   Amy Fowler        21:10.1
139  Anne Heiner       21:26.2
158  Ann Marie Thomas  21:41.1
169  Kristen Ogden     21:47.6
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY MEN
6    Josh Rohatinsky   29:40.2
36   Chandler Goodwin  30:16.9
131  Josh McAdams      31:17.5
172  Nick McCombs      31:39.0
177  Jacob Gustafsson  31:42.3
182  Dustin Bybee      31:43.4
197  Tyrel Jensen      31:52.7

PROVO -- Both the men and women's cross country teams are ranked No. 8, and are looking to turn some heads at Mondays NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

The women are coming off a second-place finish in the NCAA Mt. Region Championships last Saturday, which gave them an automatic bid to the national championships.

Women's head coach Patrick Shane said the team has done well, and now it's just a matter of waiting and running their best.

"Our works outs have gone very well," Shane said. "At this point the hay is in the barn and it's a matter of recovering from the previous race and sharpening just a little bit."

Shane also said even though they will be running against the best teams and the best individuals, he feels the Cougars have an opportunity to show how good they really are.

"We are ranked eighth in the nation right now," he said. "I think we are better than that, and if we run well, we'll have a chance to prove it. There is darn little pressure coming in ranked eighth because if we run our best we can achieve it."

Sophomore Heidi Magill (Orem) and senior Chelsea Smith McKell (Spokane, Wash.), who have led the women's team all season, will once again be looked to as the frontrunners for the Cougars. Shane said they (Magill and McKell), along with junior Brianne Sandberg (Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif.), all have a shot at running an All-America race (top thirty finishers).

Monday's race will be McKell's first NCAA Division I National Championship race. She transferred to BYU from BYU-Hawaii were she was a two-time Division I-AA National Cross Country Champion in 2003 and 2004.

On the men's side, they are heading to the national championships by way of an at-large bid. After the men placed first in the Roy Griak Invitational and second in the Pre-National Blue Race, the same course where nationals are being run, they put themselves in a nice spot for the at-large bid.

Men's head coach Ed Eyestone said the team will be ready to go and should make a good showing.

"We're looking good," Eyestone said. "We're cool, calm, collected and ready to roll. We've done it enough times that the guys are familiar with the experience."

Eyestone also said this year's field is strong with the teams being a lot more solid in their one through five runners. He said he is confident they can do well if they focus on their race.

"We know what we need to do," he said. "We need to just run our own race and finish together. If we do that, we can make a run at the top four. If we finish strong like I know we can, I think we have a good chance at being on the podium and bringing home a trophy."

Junior Josh Rohatinsky (Provo) will once again led the Cougar pack as he looks to put together his second consecutive All-America performance. Last season Rohatinsky place 22nd at the national championships earning his first cross country All-America honor. He has continued to perform well this season with first place finishes at the Roy Griak Invitational and the Mountain West Conference Championships, and third place finishes at Pre-Nationals and the NCAA Mt. Region Championships.

In the last eight seasons the women have fared well at the NCAA Championships winning four national titles (1997, 1999, 2001 and 2002) and three runners-up finishes. The men's fifth-place finish at last year's NCAA Championships was their best finish since the 1993 Cougars placed second.

Monday's meet will be at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, and will begin with the men taking off at noon and the women at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.