STANFORD, Calif., (Mar. 26, 2005)--In a competition featuring more than 4,000 college and high school athletes, the BYU men's and women's distance squads received six NCAA regional qualifying marks at the Stanford Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Saturday's action featured the Cougars' middle distance specialists in the 800 meters.

"The meet had a lot of good competition," BYU distance coach Ed Eyestone said. "The rabbits helped set a fast pace. We're just looking for opportunities to improve."

Freshman All-American Heidi Magill won the women's 800 meters with a regional qualifying mark of 2:05.97, while her counterparts on the men's team both finished in the top-10 with regional qualifying marks as well.

Lars Kjerengtroen placed seventh with a time of 1:49.33 and teammate Jason Dorais was right behind crossing the line in 1:49.51. Scott Adams also participated in the race, he placed 32nd with a time of 1:55.67.

All-American Nathan Robison added another regional qualifying mark and top-10 finish for the Cougars when he placed eighth in the 1,500 meters. He finished at 3:45.38. Teammate Dustin Trail barely missed a qualifying mark, running the race in 3:49.53.

On the women's side of the 1,500 meters on Saturday, Rena Chesser placed 14th at 4:29.41 with teammate Anne Heiner trailing at 4:38.08, placing 27th.

Also competing on Saturday were two Cougar jumpers. Lindsey Sommer placed seventh in the triple jump by clearing 38 feet 6.25 inches. High jumper Jon Willison finished 15th by leaping 6 feet 4.75 inches.

During Friday's competition, the men's team received three NCAA regional qualifying marks.

Josh McAdams and Chandler Goodwin both received qualifying marks in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. McAdams won his section of the event, with the fastest time in any of the sections. He completed the race 8:40.48. His time was the second fastest by an American this year.

"I ran a controlled race," McAdams said. "I just let it go the last 400 meters."

McAdams added that the distance squad is only going to get better during the season.

Goodwin finished third in his section, running the course in 8:57.43.

Distance star Josh Rohatinsky also received a regional qualifying mark in the 5,000 meters. Rohatinsky placed seventh in his section, completing the race in 13:47.57.

Five other Cougars ran the 5,000 meters on Friday in four different sections. David Woodbury (14:21.80), Brett Andrus (14:41.51), Nathan Ogden (14:53.41), Nick McCombs (15:02.49) and Dustin Bybee (14:42.50) all competed in the event.

The women's team, meanwhile, received eight top-10 finishes during Friday's events.

BYU-Hawaii transfer Chelsea Smith also posted a regional qualifying time in the 10,000 meters. She placed eighth with a time of 33:40.59, giving the Cougars another strong performance in the distance races.

BYU women's track coach Craig Poole said he was pleased with his team because they had a fine meet.

"We sent some people down there to gain experience," Poole said. "They all did their best."

Sprinter Challis Firl finished second in the 400 meters, with teammates Laura Hale and Christina McCracken placing sixth and 14th respectively. Firl ran the race in 56.74, while Hale crossed the line at 58.24. McCracken finished in just over a minute.

Orem native Michelle Lindsay and Laura Taylor combined for two more top-10 finishes in the 800 meters. Lindsay placed sixth at 2:12.49 and Taylor placed eighth at 2:13.28. Lorette Hansen also competed in the race, running a 2:19.36 to finish 23rd.

Other women finishing in the top-10 Friday include freshman Ann Marie Thomas (6th, 1,500 meters), Lindsey Sommer (3rd, long jump) and Taylor Law (6th, 400-meter hurdles).

For complete results, please visit www.gostanford.com.

PROVO -- The BYU men's and women's track teams will send athletes in two directions this weekend with some athletes competing in the Stanford Invitational in California and others in the Arizona State University Invitational in Tempe this weekend.

Participating in two separate meets will give many of the Cougar track athletes a chance to compete during the second week of the outdoor season.

The Stanford Invitational, held Friday and Saturday, is one the West's biggest track meets of the season.

Thousands of high school, college, and professional athletes will compete at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field during the two-day track and field extravaganza. Last year's meet produced more than 200 NCAA Regional and Division I automatic qualifiers.

While the Stanford Invitational is a two-day meet, the ASU Invitational is a one-day event held on Saturday.

The meet features athletes from Air Force, Ashland (Ohio), BYU, Dartmouth, Iowa State and Kansas State, as well as several individual competitors and unattached athletes. Field events open the day with the women's hammer at 10 a.m. while the running events are set to start under the lights at 6 p.m. with the women's 100m hurdles.

With competition at Stanford lasting until late Friday night, a comprehensive recap of the meet's results, along with those from the ASU Invitational, will be available on Saturday night after the conclusion of both meets on www.byucougars.com.