Pepperdine Women's XC Team Earns National Ranking
10/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 18, 2010
Buzzin aCROSS the COUNTRY Newsletter 
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's cross country team received a No. 23 national ranking and was listed as one of three teams to watch at the upcoming West Coast Conference Championships in this week's edition of Buzzin aCROSS the COUNTRY - a newsletter published by sports writer Kevin Horan.
The Waves were recognized following their strong performance at this past Saturday's Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara. Pepperdine junior Lauren Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS) led the 5K race from start to finish, posting a personal best time of 16:50.4, while her senior teammate Chelsea Wishard (Lawai, Hawai'i/Kauai HS) placed third of 163 runners with a mark of 16:57.8.
Pepperdine placed ninth in the 19 team field, which included quality sides from Long Beach State, Fresno State, New Mexico and UCLA, in addition to WCC schools Santa Clara, Saint Mary's, San Francisco and San Diego. The Waves finished second among conference institutions, edged only by Santa Clara by two points.
Portland remains Horan's choice to win the West Coast Conference title for the 20th time in 24 years, but lists Pepperdine and Gonzaga as the two other teams to watch rather than San Francisco, which won last year's crown for the first time in program history. Wishard has placed third at the Crystal Springs Course the past two seasons, and if Lodge can join her on the All-WCC team, then Pepperdine could very well post its best conference finish under the direction of fifth-year head coach Robert Radnoti.
The West Coast Conference championships take place in Belmont, Calif., the morning of Saturday, Oct. 30. Cross country fans can log onto WCCSports.com for more details.
