FORT COLLINS -- Both the men and women's cross country teams are heading back to the NCAA Cross Country Championships next weekend, after the Cougars both finished second at the NCAA Mountain Regionals, in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The No. 11th ranked women keep their streak alive of 15 consecutive trips to the NCAA championships, as the No. 9th ranked men head back for their sixth straight visit.

Men's coach Ed Eyestone and women's coach Patrick Shane added their teams ran their best races of the year.

"We had one of our best races of the year," Eyestone said. "It was a controlled race for us, we didn't push it to the point of exhaustion.

The men competed in their first 10K race, which saw them finish with a score of 62 points, just 22 points behind No. 4th ranked Colorado.

Josh Rohatinsky did what he has done all year; the sophomore finished fourth overall, with a time of 29:52.7 Right behind Rohatinsky, was teammate Brian Lindsay. The senior finished the race with a time of 30:07.3, which claimed him a sixth place finished overall.

Both Rohatinsky and Lindsay earned NCAA Mountain Region honors, as did three other teammates. Nathan Robison finished with a time of 30:18.3, placing him 14th overall. Dustin Bybee finished with a time of 30:39.8, placing him 21st overall and Chad Durham placed 25th overall, with a time of 30:42.5.

"I'm proud of the guys," Eyestone said. "We have some room to improve, but the guys are feeling good about the race. This is the first time, since I've been at BYU, that we've had five runners make the NCAA Mt. Region team."

As for the women, they finished with a score of 54 points, just 22 points behind No. 3 ranked Colorado.

"We had a 28 second separation between our number one and number three runners," Shane said. "What we need to do is get our fourth and fifth runners a little bit closer, if we can do that we are a good team."

Laura Turner once again led the women as she finished the women's 6K event, with a time of 20:31.6, which placed her third overall. Not far behind Turner, were teammates Heidi Magill and Rena Chesser.

Magill finished sixth overall, with a time of 20:52.8 as Chesser finished seventh, with a time of 20:59.0.

Turner, Magill and Chesser along with teammates Amber Harper, Julie Cameron and Jami Caldwell each earned NCAA Mt. Region honors.

Harper finished 17th overall, with a time of 21:30.0. Cameron placed 21st overall, with a time of 21:43.8 and Caldwell finished with a time of 21:51.5, which was good enough for 25th place.

"We got out and stayed with the front runners today," Chesser said. "We're improving each week and we're excited to go back to nationals."

"We set very high goals this year," Eyestone said. "We want to be one of the top four teams in the country. In order for us to do that, everyone is going to have to run their best race of the year."

2004 NCAA Mt. Region Cross Country Champs
Collingdale Golf Course
Fort Collins, Colorado
Men's 10K Event
1.	Univ of Colorado-Boulder	  2, 4, 10, 11, 13  = 40
2.	Brigham Young Univ.	       3, 5, 12, 19, 23  =	62
3.	US Air Force Academy	      8, 17, 22, 25, 34 =	106
4.	Univ of New Mexico	        1, 7, 38, 44, 46  =	136
Men's NCAA Mt. Region Honors -(Must finish in the top 25)
Place  Name              Time
4      Josh Rohatinsky   29:52.7
6      Brian Lindsay     30:07.1
14     Nathan Robison    30:18.3
21     Dustin Bybee      30:39.8
25     Chad Durham       30:42.5
Women's 6K Event
1. Univ of Colorado-Boulder   1, 4, 5, 10, 12 = 32
2. Brigham Young University   3, 6, 7, 17, 21 = 54
3. Colorado State University  14, 19, 31, 32, 33 = 129
4. Utah State University      16, 18, 23, 34, 38 = 129
Women's NCAA Mt. Region Honors -(Must finish in the top 25)
Place  Name              Time
3      Laura Turner      20:31.6
6      Heidi Magill      20:52.8
7      Rena Chesser      20:59.0
17     Amber Harper      21:30.0
21     Julie Cameron     21:43.8
25     Jami Caldwell     21:51.5

PROVO -- Coming off their title runs at the Mountain West Conference Championships, the men and women's cross country teams lace up their shoes for the NCAA Mt. Regionals, in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The rain is falling and the snow is coming and what that means for the Cougars is championship time has come.

For the last couple of months the men and women have prepared themselves for what lies ahead. Hopefully, all the long and exhausting workouts will pay off as the Cougars strive for chance to be called the best.

Women's coach Patrick Shane, who's coached four national championship teams in the last seven years noted, "It's all about qualifying for the NCAA Championships."

Laura Turner, who received the MWC Women's Athlete of the Year award, will lead a talented group of runners who are pursuing their fourth consecutive district title.

"We've had some really good workouts the last couple of weeks," Shane said. "The team is coming together and I expect some great things happening this weekend."

Despite a fourth place finish at last year's event, the men bring a whole new look and attitude to this year's race.

"The guys look great," men's coach Ed Eyestone said. "We had an awesome week of practice and I feel confident going into this weekend."

The men will be led by sophomore Josh Rohatinsky, who has established himself as one of the nation's top runners. Behind Rohatinsky, is a core of runners who each week find a jewel hidden in the ruff.

"Our depth is our key," Eyestone said. "If we are going to place in the top four our depth is going to be what gets us there."

Unlike the course they ran on at the MWC Championships the regional event features nothing, but flat open terrain.

"It's a pancake flat course," Eyestone said. "No imagination could describe a hill of any kind."

The men will run their first 10k run of the year, which is an additional two miles of running. This could be a major turning point for some teams, something Eyestone isn't to worried about.

"We've trained ourselves for this, but it's always different when your out there competing," Eyestone added. "The team is feeling pretty loose. We know we don't have to hit any home runs this weekend, but we also don't want to coast through the race. We want to run well enough to get to nationals."

"We don't talk about the meet to much," Shane said. "They know it's coming up. My style of coaching is we don't over emphasize it, they know what their training for and I don't need to talk about it much."

The meet starts on Saturday, November 13th with the women's 6K event at 11:00 a.m., followed by the men's 10k event at 12:15 p.m.