Pepperdine University
Malibu Oceanside Open
Lodge, Wozniak Lead Waves at Malibu Oceanside Open
9/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Lodge, Wozniak Lead Waves at Malibu Oceanside Open
Sept. 1, 2009
Click on the above video for a postmeet interview with head coach Robert Radnoti.
Results
MALIBU, Calif. - Sophomore Lauren Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS) and junior Conrad Wozniak (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) led their respective Pepperdine teams to the finish line Tuesday evening at the Malibu Oceanside Open. The season-opening 5K meet took place at Pepperdine's Alumni Park with a Pacific Ocean sunset serving as a picturesque backdrop.
The Pepperdine women won its dual over Cal State Bakersfield by a score of 21-38, while the men swept the top five spots from a opposing team comprised of alumni and unattached competitors.
"This race was our first opportunity to see what the pecking order was going to be within both our teams, and it was good to see a number of people step up who I think will continue to be solid contributors," fourth-year head coach Robert Radnoti said. "For some of our student-athletes, I could see their summer work paying off tonight. Many of them live and train on their own, but those who got it done were the same ones who ran really well."
Lodge finished the course in 19 minutes and 14 seconds, which was 17 seconds faster than runner-up Arianna Celis of Cal State Bakersfield. Celis was followed to the finish line by Waves Ana Prim (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) and Aneasha Lawrence (Sun Valley, Calif./Village Christian HS), while CSUB's Casey Glassey rounded out the top five.
"It was a nice win, but it's a lot harder to race in the evening after going through a full day of classes and an early morning practice," Lodge said. "It felt good to get out there and get the speed out of my legs, and it was good to see all the girls running well knowing how hard they've been training this summer."
Also scoring for the Waves were Elizabeth Coe (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley HS) and freshman Megan Doeding (La Crescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley HS).
"Lolo (Lodge) was outstanding once again, but I was just as pleased with Ana and Aneasha our No. 2 and 3 runners," Radnoti said. "Tonight was Ana's first race as a Wave and Aneasha's made a big move from where she was at this point last year."
Wozniak held off sophomore Kenny Smith (Willits, Calif./Willits HS) for first place in their race, edging his teammate by one second, 15:56-15:57, and the rest of the field by more than ten seconds.
"Kenny was keeping me honest there at the end," Wozniak said. "He was pushing me hard and it wasn't easy keeping him back. But it was a good team effort and it felt great to shake the rust off and get this team moving fast again."
A pair of Washington State natives senior Garrett Reim (Fircrest, Wash./Curtis HS) and freshman Wesley Blundell (Brush Prairie, Wash./Prairie HS) were next to cross the finish line with Reim nipping Blundell by two seconds, while junior Seth Allison (Canyon, Texas/Canyon HS) came in fifth.
"Wes, one of our freshmen, was a super bright spot for us today," Radnoti said. "It was great to see him running strong and keeping up with our top four."
The Malibu Oceanside Open was Pepperdine's first and lone home race of the year. The Waves return to competition in less than two weeks at the UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 12 with the first race slated for an 8:30 a.m. start.
