Sept. 24, 2011

Stanford Invitational Results

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Pepperdine's All-West Coast Conference runner, Lauren Lodge, made her season debut for the Waves' women's cross country team at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday. After missing the first two meets due to injury, she was back to leading the way for her team.

"Lauren felt very good about the race afterward," Pepperdine Coach Robert Radnoti said. "There's still time for her to bring her time down quite a bit by the end of the season. She was very proud of how she did."

In a women's 6k race that featured 278 runners, Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS), a senior, was 64th overall with a time of 22:09.

Radnoti was also happy about the showing of sophomore Adrianna Davies (Coronado, Calif./Coronado HS), who bested senior Aneasha Lawrence (Sun Valley, Calif./Village Christian HS) for the Waves' #2 spot by six seconds. Senior Hannah DeWalt (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) and senior Courtney Rolando (Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek HS) were the other point-scorers.

"Adie was really pleased," he said. "The whole Davies family was there and it was a good day for them."

Senior Kenny Smith (Willits, Calif./Willits HS) was the Waves' top finisher for the third time in three meets in the men's 8k. He took 85th overall with a time of 25:35.

"Kenny was our top men's runner again," Radnoti said. "We talk about each race having a 30-second improvement, and that's about what he did. He's on his way to where we want him to be by the end of the season. He's healthy and running strong, and we need to get the rest of our guys healthy and strong too."

Smith's next four teammates to finish were sophomore Jesse Aston (Martinez, Calif./Alhambra HS), junior Jonathan Rahaeuser (Irvine, Calif./Calvary Chapel HS), senior Jordan Wozniak (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) and freshman David Bermea (Rosamond, Calif./Rosamond HS).

Stanford, which has its men's team ranked #3 nationally and its women #6, dominated both races. The Cardinal's Chris Derrick (23:15) won the men's race and Kathy Kroeger (20:07) won the women's event. Pepperdine placed 23rd among women's teams and 25th among the men.

Part of the reason for taking part in this race was so that the Waves' runners could get a preview of the NCAA West Regional, which will also be held at the Stanford Golf Course.

"This was a very strong competition," Radnoti said. "It was a good day on the regional course. It was tough, though. There were a lot of good runners here."

The Waves take the next couple of weekends off from competition and will next be in action at Santa Clara's Bronco Invitational on October 15.