UPCOMING — The Pepperdine men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Fullerton this Friday to compete in the 2007 Titan Cross Country Invitational. The course will be run primarily on grass athletic fields and concrete and asphalt pathways around the Sports Complex.

KAMPMAN KLASSIC: A few dozen runners came out to Pepperdine on Saturday to honor long-time cross country coach Dick Kampmann with the second annual Kampmann Klassic in Alumni Park.

The race included Pepperdine’s men’s and women’s teams but was also open to any other runners, including parents who were in town for Parents’ Weekend, and those who have run for Kampmann during his long and illustrious career. Overnight rain dampened the course but kept conditions cool, which was good for the runners. Freshman David Williams (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Mira Costa HS) won the men’s race in 16:59, while freshman Kelli Binder (Englewood, Col. / Regis Jesuit HS) was the overall women’s winner finishing in 21:37.

UP NEXT: The Waves will travel to Belmont, Calif., on Saturday Oct. 27, to compete in the WCC Championships at Crystal Springs. Last year junior Courtney Young ( Encinitas, Calif. / La Costa HS) finished 24th and junior Brie Carroll (Pusan, South Korea / Pusan American HS) finished 31st.

HEAD COACH— Robert Radnoti begins his second season as head coach of the Pepperdine men’s and women’s cross country program. Radnoti previously coached at Thousand Oaks High School where his girls’ team won the Division I state cross country title in 2005. Radnoti brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the program.

ASSISTANT COACHES — Four-time Olympian and U.S. national 800-meter record holder Johnny Gray joins the Pepperdine cross country program this season. Gray will work primarily on speed and technique. Dick Kampmann, the former Waves cross country coach for 17-years, returns as a volunteer coach. Jan Radnoti, who has coached alongside her husband at Thousand Oaks High School, also begins her first year with the Waves as a volunteer assistant.

PEPPERDINE HISTORY —Pepperdine’s cross country program dates back to the 1960s when Ron Pettigrew and Harry Skandera were both All-American runners. The program was dropped when Pepperdine moved its campus to Malibu. However, men’s and women’s cross country was reinstated in the mid-1970s. This year’s women’s squad is the largest in the history of the Pepperdine program.