LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Junior Courtney Young placed second in the 10,000 meters and shattered the school record to lead a seven-person contingent from the Pepperdine track team at the super-competitive UCLA Rafer Johnson-Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational on Friday night.
Young (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) beat the school record by nearly 2 ½ minutes, running a time of 38:05.53 in the invitational race.
“Courtney ran superb,” Pepperdine Coach Robert Radnoti said. “She had been pushed hard this week with schoolwork, and she thought she would struggle, but she turned into a running machine. The race is 25 laps on the track and it is truly a test of mental toughness. She got in the zone and never slowed.”
Freshman Chelsea Wishard (Lawai, Hawaii/Kauai HS) won her heat in the 800-meter open and was 21st overall with a time of 2:19.70, breaking the school record by more than five seconds.
Freshman Conrad Wozniak (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) lowered his own school record in the 5000-meter invitational race to 15:13.73 and placed 16th overall.
“Conrad is leading a great group of freshmen men who get better and better each race,” Radnoti said.
Three more youngsters were in action on Friday, as freshman Eric Magana (Whittier, Calif./La Serna HS) and sophmore Garrett Reim (Fircrest, Wash./Curtis HS/Willamette) took part in the 800 open. Magana ran 1:56.62 and Reim ran 2:02.18. Freshman David Williams (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) competed in the 1500 open and ran 4:06.62.
Finally, senior Chris Ogle (Tucson, Ariz./Mountain View HS/Arizona) placed 10th in the 3000-meter steeplechase invitational and finished in a time of 9:10.33, nearly missing the automatic NCAA qualifying mark.
The Waves are next scheduled to compete in the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays, held April 18-20.
