Pepperdine University
NCAA West Regional
Cross Country Ends Season at NCAA West Regional
11/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
PALO ALTO, Calif. - The Pepperdine cross country teams closed out the 2014 season on Friday as the Waves ran at the NCAA West Regional at Stanford.
Junior Katie Engel (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima HS) led the Pepperdine women for the fifth time in six races this season, and for the ninth time in the last 12 meets dating back to last year. She came in 98th place overall with a time of 22:05.4 in the 6K.
Also scoring for the women were sophomore Lindsay Sheaffer (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS), senior Lisa Santroch (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood HS), sophomore Elle Lemco (San Jose, Calif./Prospect HS) and junior Rachel Rant (Boise, Idaho/Boise HS). Sheaffer, who came in 126th, improved on her standing by nearly 60 spots from the 2013 West Regional.
"We had almost perfect conditions for racing today," Pepperdine Coach Robert Radnoti said. "On the women's side, Katie ran really nicely for us. She got out well, ran strong and finished strong. This ended a nice, consistent season for her. Lindsay also had a very nice day. As a team, we were pleased to beat several schools from the WCC and other conferences. It was a good finish after all of the setbacks and injuries we had over the course of the season."
Sophomore Ben Fox (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain HS) went from being Pepperdine's #4 men's runner at last year's NCAA West Regional to its top finisher this season. He came in 148th place (nearly 40 spots better) with a time of 32:32.0 in the 10K.
The Waves' other scorers were freshman Kevin Maeda (Highland, Calif./Citrus Valley HS), sophomore Gordie Thomas (Fallbrook, Calif./Great Oak HS), freshman Dan Chiriaev (Campbell, Calif./Prospect HS) and freshman Kyle Cajero (Tucson, Ariz./Pusch Ridge Christian Academy).
"We had a goal of beating San Diego and we were able to do that," Radnoti said. "Our plan was to run as a pack. We started out doing that, and then it dwindled to our top three, and then Ben and Kevin went on to run very strong. This was much better than last year's finish, as team and as individuals. They're young and excited to and to finish on a high note, I'm pleased with that."
The women came in 29th place, while the men were 28th.
