Waves Are Back at UC Riverside on Saturday
10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
MALIBU, California -- The Pepperdine men's and women's cross country teams have their last tune-up prior to the West Coast Conference Championships on Saturday. The expected venue has changed, however, as due to the wildfires in Northern California and expected poor air quality, the Waves have switched their participation from Santa Clara's Bronco Invitational to UC Riverside's Highlander Invitational.
 | MEET DETAILS |
This is Pepperdine's second meet this season at UCR's Agricultural Operations Course, as they also took part in the UC Riverside Invitational on September 16. The men's 6K will be at 8 a.m., followed by the women's 5K at 8:30 a.m.
| NOTABLES |
- Three different men's runners have led the Waves at each of the three meets thus far. With senior Kevin Maeda (Highland, Calif./Citrus Valley HS) and junior Nick Heath (Scotts Valley, Calif./Scotts Valley HS) sitting out the Pepperdine Invitational, freshman Kyle Johnson (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester HS) was the top runner there. Maeda then took 20th place overall at the UC Riverside Invitational in a time that ranks #3 on Pepperdine's all-time list. Heath reclaimed the top spot the last time out at the Capital Cross Challenge.
- On the women's side, freshman Abbey Meck (Santa Cruz, Calif./San Lorenzo Valley HS) has been the Waves' top finisher at all three races this season. Her time at the UC Riverside Invitational was good for #9 all-time at Pepperdine.
- The freshmen women have filled either all five, or four of the five, scoring positions at the three meets.
| QUOTABLES |
Head coach Robert Radnoti says:
"We had been monitoring (the wildfires and air quality) pretty closely because the students' welfare and health are the most important things to us. I thought it was a good idea to cancel that and stay in Southern California. UC Riverside opened up registration for Southern California teams and we were able to go there."
| UP NEXT |
The WCC Championships will be held Friday, October 27, at the Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland, California. San Francisco is the host.
