FULLERTON, Calif. – A small group of Pepperdine cross country runners took part in the Titan Cross Country Invitational, hosted by Cal State Fullerton, on Friday afternoon. Most of the Waves’ runners were held out in preparations for next weekend’s West Coast Conference meet.
Freshman Isaiah White (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks HS) led a group of three men’s runners in the 8K with a 26th-place finish in 27:36. Freshman Tom Verdone (Anaheim, Calif./Canyon HS) was right behind in 28th place. Senior Josh Stutzman (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) was 50th in 29:55.
For the women, junior Marissa Kerby (Riverside, Calif./Ayala HS) led four Pepperdine runners that finished the 5K with a time of 20:38, good for 54th place. Freshman Mary Stutzman (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) was 61st in 21:09, junior Ashley Burt (Boise, Idaho/Boise HS) was 63rd in 21:17 and sophomore Liz Lyons (West Warwick, R.I./St. Mary Academy) was 86th in 24:02.
“We’ve got our conference championships next Saturday so we’re pretty focused on that and we let our main group rest,” Pepperdine Coach Robert Radnoti said. “Today we ran a group that’s vying for that 7-8-9 position. All of the athletes ran really well today. It was pretty hot and smoggy out here, and the course had quite a bit of concrete, which isn’t what we’re accustomed to. It was a tough course. But it was a good experience for some of our young athletes and allowed them the opportunity to get another race under their belts.”
The WCC meet will be held in Belmont, Calif. at the Crystal Springs course next Saturday (Oct. 27).
