Pepperdine University
Malibu Oceanside Open
Cross Country Teams Sweep Season Opening Competitions
9/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 1, 2010
Click here for the Malibu Oceanside Open women's results and team scores 
Click here for the Malibu Oceanside Open men's results and team scores
MALIBU, Calif. - Pepperdine's men's and women's cross country teams won all three of their duals Wednesday night at the season opening Malibu Oceanside Open.
Senior and team captain Seth Allison (Canyon, Texas/Canyon HS) won the men's 5K in 16:16 as his squad posted a 15-41 score over WCC rival San Diego. Junior Aneasha Lawrence (Sun Valley, Calif./Village Christian) was Pepperdine's top finisher in the women's 5K and second overall to Cal State Bakersfield's Arianna Celis with a time of 19:09, but her classmates Emily Branch (Advance, N.C./Forsyth Country Day School) and Hannah DeWalt (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) separated from the pack with about 3/4 of a mile remaining to earn the all-important third and fourth place points.
Pepperdine beat the Roadrunners by a final score of 24-33, and topped the Toreros, 15-49.
Celis' winning time was clocked at 18:54.96
"I'm pleasantly surprised with my result," Lawrence said, "because my training this summer was much less intense compared to years past. I didn't run as many miles in the offseason and I think I'm just running happier as a result."
While Celis' lead was unchallenged from the start, her teammates Casey Glassey and Cecilia Lopez were hanging with Lawrence, Branch and DeWalt during the early stages as the five of them were tied up in a pack through the first two miles. But as the Waves made their final push down Stick Tree Hill in Alumni Park toward the finish line, the competition couldn't keep up.
"The hills on this course can be a killer, and it helped all of us to know the terrain," Lawrence said. "I came from behind last year and when I saw an opening to make a move up, I just went for it. I'm very excited to run my next race."
Allison led his race from start to finish, although he was challenged briefly by one of the Toreros toward the end of the first mile. But once the runners were completing mile two along the Pacific Coast Highway, Allison opened up a comfortable six-second lead over the 14-man field.
Sophomore Sean King (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill HS) eventually closed the gap on Allison as they approached the finish line, but the veteran held him off for a two-second margin of victory.
"I didn't start my kick early enough and he caught up with me," Allison said, "but it was good to see him up there at the end. He's been battling some injuries.
"Overall, it felt good to get my body and mind back in racing mode since it's been since early March since my last competition. My original goal was to run moderately fast the first mile and then slow it down, but their runners sped up and I went out too fast as a result. But then they had trouble hitting the down hills and were slowed up even more trying to go back up."
Pepperdine's next competition is the UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 11.
Players Mentioned
