Wozniak & Lodge Lead Waves at USF Open
3/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track
Lodge (
“Lolo’s been super strong and healthy this whole year and I don’t even think she’s begun to exert herself yet,” Pepperdine head coach Robert Radnoti said. “She got out real quick, established her pace and ran away from the pack. We planned for her to run a 4:40 and she got the job done. I’m pleased she was able to push her time down.”
Wozniak (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) came close to winning his race but was edged at the finish line by USF’s Pedro Carela by a half second.
“They kept trading leads and Conrad eventually took over with 600 meters to go but just didn’t have the speed needed to hold on, but at least he got his personal record,” Radnoti said.
Other top performances from last Saturday’s meet included Eric Magana’s (
The USF Open concluded an awesome and inspiring Spring Break week for the Waves, who spent most of their hours donating their time to the children of the Hope Children’s Home.
The home, which is operated by Hope International Ministries, is a volunteer facility that cares for children (ages 18 months to 18 years) who are either orphaned or rescued. Pepperdine team members have traveled their annually for the past three years, cleaning, painting and landscaping the property in addition to working and playing with the children.
“There are 67 kids living at the home and our daily interactions with them were the highlights of the week,” Radnoti said. “Because of the weather they receive there’s always a lot of rigorous maintenance that needs to be done, so we spent a lot of time water blasting and painting buildings. I think what we’re able to accomplish down there fits Pepperdine’s motto of ‘Freely Ye Received, Freely Give.”
Despite just coming back from a hard, yet rewarding, week the Waves are back to work preparing for this Saturday’s all-day meet at Cal State Northridge. Radnoti is expecting to see more than 25 schools in attendance and an average of eight to nine heats per race. The focus for the sprinters will be a series of relays, including the 4x100 and sprint medley, while the distance folks will be engaged in their first 5K of the year.
