Cross Country Runs at Bronco Invitational on Saturday
10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
MALIBU, California " The Pepperdine men's and women's cross country teams have their final meet in advance of the championship season this Saturday as the Waves run at Santa Clara's Bronco Invitational.
The meet will be held at Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale, California. The men's 8K Invitational is at 9 a.m., followed by the women's 6K Invitational at 9:45 a.m. Men's and women's Open races will be held at 10:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., respectively. The Waves are slated to have runners in all four events.
Other Division I schools scheduled to take part are California, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Hawai'i, Loyola Marymount, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Pacific, Portland State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UNLV and UTSA.
After this Saturday, next up are the West Coast Conference Championships (Oct. 28 in San Diego) and NCAA West Regional Championships (Nov. 11 in Sacramento).
The men's squad is coming off a tremendous showing at the Capital Cross Challenge on Oct. 1, as sophomore Nick Heath (Scotts Valley, Calif./Scotts Valley HS), redshirt junior Nick Blanchard (Portland, Conn./Portland HS) and senior Ben Fox (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain HS) ran the three fastest 8Ks in program history, with Heath breaking his own school record by nearly a minute in 24:06.5. Heath has two victories and has been in the top 10 at all three races so far this season.
On the women's side, senior Lindsay Sheaffer (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS) was the top Wave at the season's first two races. She missed the Capital Cross Challenge, where Pepperdine was led by freshman Bri Wilson (Murrieta, Calif./Linfield Christian School).
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — 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 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). 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 #50 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
