Sept. 2, 2005

Malibu, Calif. - The Pepperdine men's and women's cross country teams will begin their 2005 seasons this weekend when they travel to Orange County to compete in the Cal State Fullerton Invitational at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton.

The eight-kilometer men's race will begin Saturday at 8:30 a.m. while the five-kilometer women's race will follow at 9:15 p.m.

Head coach Dick Kampmann is beginning his 17th year leading the men's and women's teams.

Saturday's meet is the first of six regular-season events the cross country teams will compete in prior to the West Coast Conference (WCC) Championships.

The Waves will host the Pepperdine Invitational on Saturday, September 24, beginning at 8:30 a.m. with the men's four-mile race. The women will run their five-kilometer race at 9:15 a.m. USC, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Los Angeles are slated to compete in the event.

The WCC Championships are scheduled for Saturday, October 29, the Crystal Springs Course in Belmont, California.

The NCAA West Regional Championships will be held at Woodward Park in Fresno, California, November 12, and the NCAA Championships are slated for November 21 in Terra Haute, Indiana.

Both the Pepperdine men's and women's teams are looking to improve on a disappointing 2004 season in which they finished eighth and seventh, respectively, at last year's WCC Championships.

Injuries and a lack a depth plagued the men a year ago as Chad Trammell suffered a season-ending injury early in the year. Trammell, who begins his senior year, was coming off a solid sophomore campaign in which he was honorable mention All-WCC after placing 12th at the 2003 WCC Championships.

The women's team will be looking to return to the form of 2003 when it placed third at the WCC Championships. The Waves are led by juniors Tarrah Crowley and Kyla Maher who produced solid 2004 seasons. Crowley was the Waves' top finisher twice while Maher paced the team three times.