Pepperdine University
Pepperdine Invitational
Heath Wins Pepperdine Cross Country Invitational Again
9/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
MALIBU, California -- Sophomore Nick Heath dominated the field to win the Pepperdine Invitational for the second straight year, as the Pepperdine men's and women's cross country teams got the 2016 season started on Thursday afternoon in picturesque Alumni Park. For the women, Lindsay Sheaffer turned in a third-place finish.
"I tell everyone that Alumni Park is the best course in the entire nation," Pepperdine Coach Robert Radnoti said. "It's spectacular and it's fun to race in front of our home crowd."
The Waves' men defeated Long Beach State 25-30, while UC Irvine picked up two victories, including a 21-39 win over Pepperdine. In the five-team women's event, which also included CSU Bakersfield and USC, the Pepperdine women beat the Roadrunners 19-43 and were defeated in the other three head-to-head matchups.
Heath (Scotts Valley, Calif./Scotts Valley HS) won the 5K men's race by 15 seconds with a time of 15:44.04. As a freshman, he set the school record in the 8K and had three top-five finishes.
"Nick has taken off right where he left off last year," Radnoti said. "He ran a really strong race, extended his lead and looked really smooth. He's poised for a great season so it's really exciting."
The three men's teams brought a total of 26 runners. Redshirt junior Nick Blanchard (Portland, Conn./Portland HS) and senior Ben Fox (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain HS) also turned in top-10 finishes, coming in seventh and 10th, respectively. Junior Kevin Maeda (Highland, Calif./Citrus Valley HS) and freshman Treet Allison (Canyon, Texas/Canyon HS) were the other two scorers.
USC's Madison Ricks won the women's 4K in 15:14.37, while Sheaffer (Portland, Ore./Jesuit HS) was third out of 46 competitors in 15:23.26. The Waves' other scorers were freshman Cori Persinger (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit West HS), freshman Brianna Wilson (Murrieta, Calif./Linfield Christian School), junior Madelyn Whitaker (Parker, Texas) and freshman Samantha Maness (Raleigh, N.C./Broughton HS).
Pepperdine next competes at the WCC Preview Meet, which will be hosted by San Diego on September 17.
Players Mentioned
