The face of the Arizona men’s track and field program the past four years has arguably been senior All-American distance runner Robert Cheseret.

“”I think I’ve changed a lot,”” said Cheseret, who has a semester of eligibility left for cross country. “”I’m a lot faster, a lot stronger. I’ve got a lot more experience.””

Cheseret has won the last two Pacific 10 Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Year awards, winning the meet both times, and has set school records in many track and field distance events.

But his greatest accomplishment was winning his first national title in the 5,000-meter at the 2004 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, according to Fred Harvey, Arizona’s track and field head coach.

With about 200 meters left to go in the race, Cheseret was knocked down and caught in a pack of athletes, Harvey said.

“”He was trampled, knocked down,”” Harvey said. “”He had to wait for the entire pack to get ahead of him, and he lost about 100 meters.””

But he maintained his cool and won the national title.

Harvey said Cheseret is one of the best athletes on campus.

“”He’s a great individual to work with,”” Harvey said. “”He’s very easygoing in terms of his personality.””