Radnoti Reflects on Positives of 2008 XC Season
12/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Following a filling meal of salad, pasta, bread and tiramisu, the team engaged in a white elephant gift exchange, which included all sorts of presents ranging from Play-Doh, to a DVD copy of Spaceballs, to a lava lamp. The most popular gift proved to be a package of Sour Patch Kids, which switched hands several times.
Afterwards, coaches and team members shared some brief thoughts at the informal gathering. Senior team captain Brieanna Carroll (Pusan, South Korea/Pusan American HS) spoke highly of sophomores Chelsea Wishard (Lawai, Hawai’i/Kauai HS), Paige Knudsen (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos HS) and freshman Lauren Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS), and later, Wishard and Knudsen stepped forward to offer gifts of thanks to Carroll and team co-captain Courtney Young (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS).
Head coach Robert Radnoti spoke briefly to his runners, thanking them for their commitment and how they’ll go about preparing for the up-and-coming track and field season, a program that is still in its infancy. The women’s team was established in 2006 while the men’s squad was reborn last year.
Away from the banquet, however, Radnoti had much more to say about the individuals who made a positive impact this past season. And if he’s grasped anything from this year’s experiences, it’s that few things are more enjoyable than getting more from those whom you least expect it from.
“Freshmen Kenny Smith (
Also having a great season on the men’s side was graduate school student Cole Feldman (Carroll, Iowa/Kuemper HS), who Radnoti said was a much improved runner and proved it with a two-minute personal record on the 10K course at the NCAA West Regional Championships.
Sophomore Seth Allison (Canyon, Texas/Canyon HS) had the best summer of any Wave runner as Radnoti noted, “He essentially became our top runner for much of 2008.” Allison was Pepperdine’s top competitor at the season opener vs. Loyola Marymount and again at the WCCs. In between, Allison served as the program’s No. 2 competitor at four different meets.
“We’re still very young on the men’s side, and even though our sophomores all hit personal records, it was a tough transition for some going from a 3-mile/5K distance in high school to an 8K or 10K,” Radnoti said. “They all didn’t recognize what an adjustment it would be so we have to continue to work with them.
“It’s good experience to have run those distances your first year and I know we’ll come back even stronger next summer with another good recruiting group in tow. We’ll be solid when that first group becomes seniors.”
The program’s top individual in 2008 belonged to the women’s team and that was Wishard, who not only led Pepperdine to the finish line in just about every competition, but continually made progress as the season wore on. She posted a 6K time of 22:07 in placing third at the WCCs and lowered that mark to a school record 21:24.41 two weeks later at the NCAA regionals.
“That kind of growth is really exciting to see for us coaches,” Radnoti said. “That’s our goal – to develop our runners from the start to the end of a season – and
Down the line from Wishard was a solid corps of sophomore and freshman harriers, which featured Knudsen, Lodge, Elizabeth Coe (
“Some of our girls were expected to do real well and others who were major surprises, so it’s really exciting to see what will happen as we develop our young runners,” Radnoti said. “Paige Knudsen had an outstanding conclusion to her season and peaked at the end which was great. She p.r.’ed by quite a bit at our conference championships (24.10) and then even went faster at the NCAA West Regional (22:18.98).”
Pepperdine’s track and field season begins Saturday, Feb. 14, and its first home event, the West Coast Challenge, is slated for Feb. 28 at 10 a.m.
- Copy by Chris Macaluso (Pepperdine sports information)
