At the end of the 1999–2000 season, BYU ranked 18th in the Sears Directors’ Cup, which gauges the overall strength of a university’s athletic program.
Track and Field
- BYU women finished fourth overall at the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and claimed national titles in two events. Junior Tara A. Rohatinsky-Northcutt finished first in the 10,000 meters, and senior Susan L. Taylor won the 1,500 meters (see “Track Champs” on p. 6). Senior Marty Hernández, placed second in the 10,000 and fourth in the 5,000. Other All-Americans were junior Jeana M. Bingham, who placed fourth in the high jump; senior Kirsten Bolm, who finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, and junior Melanie L. Steere, who took sixth in the 800-meter run.
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Susan Taylor
An English major with a 3.95 GPA, Susan Taylor was named to the GTE Academic All-America first team. Distance runner John D. Hedengren, a junior in chemical engineering with a 3.95 GPA, was named to the GTE Academic All-America second team.
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Jim Roberts
Junior Jim P. Roberts earned All-America honors for the second straight season by placing third in the shot put at the NCAA Championships. Roberts threw a lifetime best 65′-11″. Freshman Curtis R. Pugsley also won All-America honors by finishing sixth in the decathlon.
- Fifteen years after earning 10 All-America awards and four NCAA championships as a Cougar, Ed Eyestone has returned to BYU as head coach of the men’s cross country team. A two-time Olympic marathoner, Eyestone still holds BYU records in the two-mile, 5,000-, and 10,000-meter races.
Baseball
- Matthew R. Carson, a freshman from Yucaipa, Calif., was one of six outfielders selected to the 2000 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All America team byCollegiate Baseballmagazine. Kainoa E. Obrey, a freshman third baseman from Hawaii, received honorable mention.
Men’s Golf
- All-American Andy Miller has been named to the 2000 U.S. Palmer Cup Team by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He is the first Cougar to be part of the prestigious team, which matches eight U.S. men’s collegiate golfers against their counterparts from Great Britain and Ireland.
Women’s Gymnastics
- At the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships, sophomore Kelly J. Parkinson tied for fifth in the all-around and tied for seventh on floor exercise, earning second-team All-America honors.
Swimming and Diving
- All-American Rachelle Smith Kunkel took first place on the 1-meter board at the 2000 U.S. National Indoor Diving Championships in April. Though the 1-meter board is not yet an Olympic event, the win puts her on the 2000 U.S. National Team.
- The women’s swim team has signed 2000 Olympian Hana Majaj, a native of Amman, Jordan. Majaj will represent her country in the butterfly events in Sydney.
