Sept. 8, 2011
MALIBU, Calif. - After last week's season-opening performance at the Malibu Oceanside Open, the Pepperdine cross country teams head to Orange County on Saturday (Sept. 10) for the Asics/UC Irvine Cross Country Invitational. This will be the Waves' first chance to compete against a large field.
UC IRVINE INVITATIONAL - The Waves will compete in the women's "A" 5k race at 8:55 a.m. and the men's "A" 8k race at 9:25 a.m. The meet will be held on UC Irvine's campus around the Anteater Recreation Center. Other schools involved are Azusa Pacific, Cal Poly, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State San Marcos, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Southern Utah, The Master's, USC, UC Irvine and host UC San Diego.
RADNOTI SAYS - Pepperdine sixth-year head coach Robert Radnoti on:
This week's race: "We're really excited about going to Irvine. It's our first real test against a normal cross-country size field. Last week we had a great opener here in Malibu and Alumni Park but we just competed against Cal State Bakersfield and our alumni. Now we'll go up against a dozen or so schools. It'll be a good competition for our team."
On the women's team: "Aneasha Lawrence will be leading the team again. Lauren Lodge will rest one more week. She will start at Stanford in a few weeks. Lauren's getting stronger and will be leading the team by the end of the season. We'll probably pack run our next group of girls and see if we can develop a pack mentality so we will be well prepared for the WCC meet."
LAST MEET - Aneasha Lawrence (Sun Valley, Calif./Village Christian HS) was the first of five straight Waves to cross the finish line as the women's cross country team soundly defeated CSU Bakersfield, 15-44, in the annual Malibu Oceanside Open last Thursday (Oct. 10).
Lawrence's first career victory came by a 27-second margin, as she finished the 5k Alumni Park course in 19:12. She was followed by sophomore Adrianna Davies (Coronado, Calif./Coronado HS) and seniors Courtney Rolando (Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek HS), Paige Mobley (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS) and Hannah DeWalt (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) in the second through fifth positions, respectively.
In the 5k men's event, Pepperdine senior Kenny Smith (Willits, Calif./Willits HS) captured the crown with a time of 16:47, beating junior Jonathan Rahaeuser (Irvine, Calif./Calvary Chapel HS) by six seconds. The men's race consisted of Pepperdine's current runners while alumni were also invited to compete.
LODGE - Pepperdine's top returner is senior Lauren Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS), though she will not compete again this weekend while still recovering from a leg injury. Lodge finished in fifth place at the 2010 WCC Championships, which led to All-WCC first team honors. She was the winner at the 2009 Malibu Oceanside Open and the 2010 Santa Clara Bronco Invitational. In track, she is the Waves' school-record holder in the 1,500, 3,000, 5,000 and steeplechase.
EXPERIENCE - Pepperdine's women's roster has nine returners (seven of whom are seniors), while the men's roster has six returners (two of whom are seniors).
ACADEMICS - Pepperdine's cross country program is perhaps the school's most accomplished in the classroom. In the 2010-11 school year, 22 student-athletes (those with grade-point averages above a 3.0) were named to the WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll, and 10 of them collected WCC All-Academic awards.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE - Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports - one of just 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest enrollment and is the only school not in a major conference. Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #53 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges. The 2011-12 school year marks Pepperdine's 75th anniversary.
