On paper, the BYU men's and women's cross country teams appear to be back on track for national dominance.

But the reality of those abilities won't be known until the two teams begin competition on Sept. 9 at the BYU Autumn Classic.

"We're finding out how good the team will be," said BYU women's coach Patrick Shane. "On paper we appear to be another strong team but for now it's difficult to assess how strong we really are."

The women's team, which has been in Park City preparing for the coming season, should enter the season in fine form while following the leadership of Kassi Andersen, Breanne Sandberg, Amy Fowler and Ann Heiner.

Andersen will be a junior while Sandberg and Heiner are seniors and Fowler will be embarking on her sophomore season.

"We've been getting the chance to look at our new freshmen," Shane said. "We have some freshmen that could be in our top seven and we do have those great returning team members."

Sandberg is back on the cross country team after serving an LDS Church mission and was an All-American for her first two years before going on her mission. Although she was home from her mission last season, Shane added that she wanted the time to return to form before heading into competition.

Additional team members have come from transfers, including one member who transferred to BYU because her husband is on the men's cross country team, as well as some coming from other colleges within the state.

"We have 41 girls on the team this year and a number of them can step up," Shane said. "Some of the transfers decided that BYU is what they need and it's been wonderful to have great role models like Kassi and Breanne that know what it takes to be highly successful at this level."

The BYU men's team, like the women's team, is favored to win the Mountain West Conference championship in 2006 and should get good help from a roster that is loaded with underclassmen.

Entering the 2006 season with experience are seniors Brett Andrus, Josh Rohatinsky, Stephen Roberts, Warren Davis and Jason Dorals.

While both teams have been picked to win the MWC titles, Shane is hoping to improve on the eighth-place finish at 2005 nationals.

"The women finished eighth last season and before that we had seven years in a row of top two finishes," he said. "It's hard to tell how good the team will be this year, but we are better on paper this year than last year. I'm really impressed with our talent, even though it's still early, I'm pleased."

The Sept. 9 BYU Autumn Classic will take place at East Bay Golf Course in Provo and will feature representatives from Arizona, Colorado State University as well as area schools like the University of Utah.

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This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C4.