By Ryan Clark
BYU cross country runner Josh Rohatinsky trailed one of the top 10 runners in the nation in a key meet early in the team''s season.
The Stanford runner began to push the pace with one mile left. Josh had a decision to make: he could either sit back with the pack, or take the risk of burning out early and try to keep pace with the leader. Josh took the risk.
About half a mile later, the runner from Stanford shut down. Josh sprinted by him, scared that the same collapse might happen to him. But Josh finished strong, and he was able to hang on for the win at the Notre Dame Invitational, beating runners from 26 different schools.
'He''s not content to just ride through and finish sixth or seventh,' said Ed Eyestone, BYU men''s head cross country coach. 'If he''s in it, he wants to win the thing.'
This determination and drive helped Josh earn All-American honors at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 22 in Terra Haute, Ind. He was the Cougars'' top runner all season. Josh has demonstrated these attributes that helped him achieve his goal of becoming an All-American his whole life.
Josh finished 22nd overall in a field of roughly 200 runners at nationals, but he was still not satisfied.
'It was good,' Josh said, 'but disappointing at the same time, knowing that I could have done a lot better.'
He could have done a lot better had he not been battling an injury for the past several weeks. Josh had a rib that constantly popped out of place, causing pain and making it difficult to breathe. However, Josh didn''t want to use it as an excuse; he wanted to use it as something to build on.
Eyetone said this attitude is typical of Josh. In fact, he was unaware of the injury until after the race when Josh briefly mentioned that it was difficult to breathe because of his rib.
Josh said he has been able to build on lessons he has learned in cross country and apply them to other aspects of his life.
'It''s taught me a lot of discipline to use my time wisely and be disciplined in my habits,' he said.
With the schedule he maintains during the season, it is easy to see why discipline is such a necessary requirement.
Josh rises every morning at 6:30 a.m. and begins the day with a four or five mile run. After a healthy breakfast, he heads to school and studies until 2 p.m. Next, he gets worked on by a trainer and goes to practice for more running and weightlifting. After practice, Josh gets worked on again, then it''s home for dinner. After he eats, Josh studies until 9 or 9:30 p.m., followed by the last run of the day. Finally, it''s bedtime at 10:30 p.m.
'It''s just monotonous,' Josh said. 'You don''t have time to do anything you want to do. When you''re not running, you''re doing schoolwork, and when you''re not doing schoolwork, you''re running. It''s hard not to go nuts, but it''s worth it.'
Josh''s mom, Sylvia Rohatinsky, said Josh has shown this type of persistence ever since he was young. Sylvia described Josh''s love for basketball, but he was always at a disadvantage due to his size - he is listed in BYU''s media guide as 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds. However, Josh didn''t let his size deter him. He constantly worked at developing his outside jumper until he had a deadly shot.
'Josh is extremely unique in many ways,' Sylvia said. 'Since the time he was tiny, he was always very focused and competitive. He had a brother six and a half years older than him, and he would zero in on whatever he needed to do to be able to keep up with his older brother.'
Ray Rohatinsky, Josh''s dad, also first noticed Josh''s aggressiveness on the basketball court. They were playing a game of one-on-one when Josh was just eight years old, and Ray said he couldn''t believe how intense Josh was. He was grunting and turning, and doing anything he could do to win.
'I could see the fire in his eyes,' Ray said. 'I thought, ''Oh my gosh, what type of child did we bear here?'''
Ray was the one responsible for introducing Josh to cross country, having run himself for the Cougars from 1964-68. He took both Josh and his sister Tara to a track meet when Josh was 10 years old. Josh, always the competitor, didn''t want to watch; he wanted to run. So both he and his sister ran in street clothes, and both did surprisingly well. Ray encouraged the kids to keep running, and they did.
When Josh reached high school, even though he was a big basketball and football fan, he decided to try track for a semester and see how it went. It was a success.
He was selected as Utah''s Athlete of the Year all four years of high school and won seven individual state titles among other numerous honors.
He decided to follow in both his father''s and sister Tara''s footsteps and run for BYU.
As a sophomore, Josh has already become a leader on the team. His teammates voted him as a captain this past season.
'Obviously, he commands a lot of respect from his teammates,' Eyestone said. 'I think the guys have admired him for his consistency, hard work and for his talent.'
Not only does Josh excel on the race course, but he is also a good student. Sylvia said he was an honors student all through high school and has been able to maintain high grades in college despite his hectic schedule. He is a physiology and developmental biology major with a goal of attending medical school.
With all the pressure to be the best and beat the competition, Josh has managed to keep the sport in perspective.
'What I''ve tried to do is go out there and focus on myself,' Josh said. 'It doesn''t matter if I take first or if I take 50th. I just want to go out and have fun competing and do my best. If I do that, it''s going to turn out well.'
Now that the cross country season is over, it would seem that Josh finally has time to relax. But only for a little while as track season is just around the corner.