BYU Cross Country Shines at Autumn Classic

The men won their 4 mile race with 21 points and were led by Josh Rohatinsky, who competed in his last home meet.

Josh Rohatinsky
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Sept. 9, 2006

PROVO, Utah - Both the men's and women's cross country teams had successful performances on Saturday as they hosted the BYU Autumn Classic at East Bay Golf Course.

The men won their 4 mile race with 21 points and were led by Josh Rohatinsky, who competed in his last home meet. Head coach Ed Eyestone was proud of his senior's performance.

"This was Josh Rohatinsky's last home cross country meet and he wanted to make a good showing," said Eyestone. "I'm excited to work with him and have a good senior season."

Early on in the race there was no clear leader of the pack. The Cougars had previously decided to run united as a group.

"As a team we planned to go the first two miles together," said Rohatinsky.

"We did exactly what we wanted to do," said Eyestone. "It was a good performance."

Rounding out the top five for the men were Dan Hinckley (2), Chandler Goodwin (3), Kyle Perry (7) and Dustin Bybee (8).

UVSC's Joe Bendoski led his team and finished the race in fourth place.

On the women's side, Kassi Anderson returned from injury with an impressive performance. After being unable to compete last year and returning from an LDS mission, Anderson led her team and finished first in the race.

"It's great," said Anderson. "I'm really excited. Coach said to take it at the mile and that's what I did. He knows what I can do."

Head coach Patrick Shane was impressed his runner's performances.

"Kassi looked great," said Shane. "Absolutely fantastic. One of the greatest cross country runners in America."

True freshman, Wendy Harris, finished her first collegiate race in fourth place.

Colorado State University, led by April Thomas, won with 29 points.

"CSU is a really good team," said Shane. "They're going to challenge us at the conference level."

Up next for the men's team is the Sacramento State Invitational on Sept. 16. The women will be traveling to Alabama for the Great American on Saturday, Sept. 23.