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BYU Women Simply Perfect By Dorothy Knoell, Provo Daily Herald
Nov. 1, 1999
PROVO -- It's tough to be perfect but not stellar. But BYU's third-ranked women's cross country team did just that Friday at the Mountain West Conference championships. "It's great, just great," BYU coach Patrick Shane said after his Cougars swept the top five positions in the meet to score a perfect 15 points and win easily. "There was a passing thought that maybe we could go 1-2-3-4-5, but this is such a great meet, it was only a passing thought. "But this is just wonderful. We've never, in all the 20 years I've been here, been able to score a perfect score at a big meet, a tough meet, like this. It's just unbelievable." Unbelievable, perhaps, but not the best the Cougars have to offer. At least, that was the opinion of sophomore Tara Rohatinsky, who finished third in the race in 17:31. "We've been working really hard lately, so it can be really hard sometimes to have a stellar performance," Rohatinsky said. When asked what was not stellar about the effort, since the Cougars got a perfect score and had eight of the top 10 finishers, Rohatinsky smiled and replied, "You can always do a little better. We haven't tapered yet, we're not at our best yet. "Our goal is to peak for districts and nationals. We can all step it up a level." If that happens, it could get scary for Cougar opponents. BYU senior Elizabeth Jackson and freshman Laura Heiner took the early lead in the race, running basically neck-and-neck through the first mile and a half. Heiner eventually fell back a little ways, but Kara Ormond, another Cougar senior, moved up to run side-by-side with Jackson. Those two stayed with each other through the rest of the race, with Jackson moving ahead late in the race and holding Ormand off for the individual championship in 17:16.2. Heiner was fourth and Sharolyn Shields fifth. "I don't always (take the early lead), but it seemed to work this time," Jackson said. "I felt really good to begin with, but my legs felt really heavy by the end. "But it's easier to kick when you're chasing someone, when you're trying to catch someone. This time I was just trying to push myself without trying to catch someone, and it was harder." Jackson needed every kick she had, however, to hold off Ormond. "You had a good kick," Ormond told Jackson ruefully as the two stood together after the race. "I felt really good toward the middle of the race, and I thought maybe I could catch her, but I couldn't." But Ormond, Jackson and Rohatinsky agreed that running in a pack of teammates kept them going. "It's so awesome to run with everyone. It's what we do in practice, and you just get so much strength from that," Rohatinsky said. Colorado State, ranked No. 22 in the country, finished second with 58 points, and Air Force was third at 111. CSU's Elizabeth Roodell was the top non-BYU finisher in the meet, crossing the line in sixth place. CSU had three runners finish in a pack at 13, 14 and 15, led by Marisa Keefe. "I thought the whole team ran very well," CSU coach Dell Hessell said. "I'm thrilled that we've moved back up in the Top 25, and I was pleased with our race today. Marisa is usually our fifth runner, and she moved up to second for us today. "BYU is just such a great team. They inspire all of us to be better." The Cougars will be at the District meet in two weeks at Fort Collins, Colo., and then should be at the national championships in three weeks in Bloomington, Ind.
BYU won the national championship in 1997.
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