2010 Pepperdine Cross Country Season Outlook
8/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Aug. 30, 2010
Click here to view the course map at Pepperdine's Alumni Park 
MALIBU, Calif. - How's this for a five-day vacation? Mammoth Park. Convict Lake. Crystal Springs. Lake Tahoe. Pismo Beach. San Luis Obispo. No, this excursion wasn't part of a game show prize package, but rather a generous gift from Pepperdine head coach Robert Radnoti to his 2010 men's and women's cross country teams.
Now in his fifth year, Radnoti wanted to put together something special for his first recruiting class - all of whom are now seniors and on track to graduate in May. The morning runs were tough but among the most picturesque the Waves have ever experienced as they glided past clear pools of water, emerald tree tops, bald eagle nests and snow-capped mountains in the distance. And in the late afternoon and evening, the Waves restored their energy with high-calorie meals (burritos as big as your head) followed by nightly devotionals inspired by 1 Corinthians 13.
This long journey across central California ended last Monday when the bus pulled back into Malibu. One hates to see a trip of this beauty and magnitude come to an end, but the early morning arrival allowed everyone time to take care of business before the school year started.
And now that class has begun? It's official. Vacation's over.
But don't feel bad for this particular group of student-athletes as they are a gifted bunch whether it's in the classroom or on the running course or both. And while they won't return to their stunning summer stomping grounds until the postseason, the Waves still get to train on a daily basis in places like Santa Monica and the Backbone Trail, which runs through the Boney Mountain State Wilderness Park.
It was during one of these recent tempo runs along the famed Ocean Avenue/San Vicente Boulevard grass running trail in downtown Santa Monica that Radnoti spotted who two of his premier leaders are likely to be this season. The men's team was led by senior Seth Allison (Canyon, Texas/Canyon HS) while junior Lauren Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS) paced the women's group - both of whom Radnoti has high expectations for this season.
"The summer is such a critical season for these student-athletes because they have to take ownership of their training and Seth stepped it up and got in done," Radnoti said. "He probably had the best summer in his four years with this team and came into preseason camp fit and strong and ready to lead. He's setting the right tone for the freshmen to follow and I want to do whatever it takes to make sure he's rewarded with a spot on the All-WCC team."
Allison produced his best season to date last year as a junior. The native Texan led all Pepperdine runners to the finish line at the UC Riverside Invitational with an 8K time of 25:53 and was second to teammate Kenny Smith (Willits, Calif./Willits HS) at the WCC and NCAA West Regional Championships.
As for Lodge, this may finally be the year in which she snaps teammate Chelsea Wishard's (Lawai, Hawai'i/Kauai HS) 13-race winning streak. Wishard has placed first among all Wave runners as a starter since her sophomore year of 2010, but her time at the top may be fading fast as she prepares to face an upset-minded Lodge.
"While Lolo (Lodge) was studying in Florence (Italy) last spring, Chelsea went ahead and eclipsed all her track records, so she's vowing to get them all back," Radnoti said. "But since her focus in 2011 will be on the steeplechase, it'd be better to beat her now during the cross country season. She ran overseas at a more delicate pace, but then did a good job of building up her aerobic capacity in the summer. Like with Seth, I need to get her among the top 10 at WCCs."
Lodge was first overall at last season's Malibu Oceanside Open with a 5K time of 19:14, but after Wishard entered the picture during the year's second week, Lodge could finish no higher than as the runner-up at five consecutive races, including the WCC Championships.
Wishard, meanwhile, was selected as Pepperdine's lone representative to the WCC's 2010 Preseason All-Conference team after finishing last year's championship race in third place for the second consecutive year. She is the first Wave in program history to post consecutive top-10 showings at Crystal Springs.
During the 2010 outdoor track season, Wishard broke a pair Lodge's school records in the 1500 and 3000-meter runs, posting respective times of 4:39.35 and 10:04.01. She also has held the Pepperdine varsity mark in the 800m of 2:19.70 since April of 2008.
Beyond Lodge and Wishard is a steady group of veterans that are expected to improve upon their 2009 results; a pack that includes juniors Emily Branch (Advance, N.C./Forsyth Country Day School), Hannah DeWalt (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) and Aneasha Lawrence (Sun Valley, Calif./Village Christian) and sophomore Megan Doeding (La Crescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley HS). Branch, a true freshman in 2008, missed all of last year as she studied overseas; however, DeWalt, Lawrence and Doeding all provided quality depth as they routinely finished among the Waves' six fastest runners.
"Hannah gave us some great performances in the second half of 2009, which was truly a breakout season for her," Radnoti said. "I think we finally completed her transition from an 800m runner to an all-out cross country competitor and she's made some substantial progress this summer. She's running faster and adding more miles every week."
On the men's side, Radnoti is pushing some of his younger runners to the forefront since two key performers - Smith and senior Conrad Wozniak (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) - are starting the year with nagging injuries. Expected to take their place at the finish line will be Conrad's younger brother, Jordan Wozniak, who had an excellent summer and is now running 80 miles per week, and sophomores Wesley Blundell (Brush Prairie, Wash./Prairie HS) and Sean King (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill HS).
Blundell produced a stellar 2009 freshman season, in which he led the Waves to a pair of first-place showings in consecutive weeks at Bakersfield and Santa Clara, and then finished third for Pepperdine at both postseason meets.
King's highest Pepperdine finish as a first-year runner was fourth at the NCAA West Regionals, but went on to dominated the 800m and 1500m events during the track season. King went on to set the school record in the 800m with a time of 1:55.33 and missed eclipsing Chris Ogle's 1500m varsity record by less than a second.
Radnoti's added several newcomers to this year's team, but the one who so far is making the greatest impact is new assistant coach Iryna Vashchuk. The former USC All-American, PAC-10 champion and Ukrainian National Team member joined the program earlier this month, and according to Radnoti, has been nothing short of awesome.
"Iryna's only been with the team for a few weeks, but everyone just loves her," he said. "She's bringing in fresh and new ideas and her youth helps her relate well with our student-athletes. We're blessed to have a world-class runner to be part of our program; I think her best 1500m time is about 4:12, which would have placed fifth in the US Olympic trials for the 2008 games."
The 2010 schedule will take Pepperdine around to many familiar locations. The Waves again will run at Irvine, Bakersfield, Santa Clara and Fullerton, but their one big trip will be to the University of Washington and the Sundodger Invitational.
"All the top west coast teams are going to be there," Radnoti said, "so it will serve as a preview of sorts for the NCAA West Regional. It's a fast course and I'm hoping to see a lot of personal records set there. Our student-athletes will definitely need to test and stretch themselves to the limit as they'll be going up against some of the top runners in the nation."
The Waves' postseason schedule begins Oct. 30 with the WCC Championships, followed by NCAA West Regionals in Eugene, Ore. on Nov. 13 and the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 22.
Pepperdine's season begins Wednesday, Sept. 1 with the annual Malibu Oceanside Open, which will pit the Waves against teams from Cal State Bakersfield and San Diego on their European styled looped course at Alumni Park. The men's 5K race begins at 6 p.m. followed by the women's 5K 30 minutes afterward.
Players Mentioned
