Results

SEATTLE, Washington " The Pepperdine men's cross country team turned in its best performance at the NCAA West Regional since 2001 and six runners made entries onto the Waves' all-time 10K list on Friday morning.

After a longest run of 8K during the first five meets of the season, the men's race was extended to 10K for the West Regional, which was held at the Jefferson Park Golf Course. Nick Heath led the Waves once again, and although he didn't break his own school record, all six Waves behind him made their mark on the Waves' 10K list. Kevin Maeda improved from #6 to #2, while five others added their names: Alex Egan (#6), Jalen Frantal (#7), Preston Gromer (#10), Kyle Johnson (#12) and Justin Touhey (#19).

The men came in 18th place overall, the first time in in the top 20 since also placing 18th in 2001 (when there were far fewer teams).

Once again, the women were led by freshman Abbey Meck. She was the top-finishing Wave at all six meets this season. The women came in 35th place.

MEN'S 10K RESULTS

• Junior Nick Heath (Scotts Valley, Calif./Scotts Valley HS) 59th place, 30:49.5
• Senior Kevin Maeda (Highland, Calif./Citrus Valley HS) 72nd place, 31:04.9
• Freshman Alex Egan (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) 138th place, 32:22.1
• Sophomore Jalen Frantal (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central HS) 142nd place, 32:26.2
• Freshman Preston Gromer (Casper, Wyo./Kelly Walsh HS) 153rd place, 32:40.1
• Freshman Kyle Johnson (Rochester Hills, Calif./Rochester HS) 156th place, 32:41.6
• Freshman Justin Touhey (Stony Point, N.Y./Don Bosco Preparatory HS) 177th place, 33:14.4

WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS

• Freshman Abbey Meck (Santa Cruz, Calif./San Lorenzo Valley HS) 154th place, 22:23.8
• Freshman Lindsay Sanger (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson HS) 192nd place, 22:58.2
• Freshman Amanda Stahl (Clinton, Mass./Advanced Math & Science Academy) 223rd place, 23:56.8
• Freshman Caroline Archer (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy) 224th place, 24:00.1
• Sophomore Tatum Rask (Highlands Ranch, Colo./ThunderRidge HS) 230th place, 24:19.7
• Sophomore Izabela Garcia-Arce (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) 235th place, 24:47.0
• Freshman Cassidy Aberson (Vacaville, Calif./Vacaville HS) 237th place, 24:53.6

QUOTABLES

Head coach Robert Radnoti said: "This was a really good meet for our men's team. Nick was strong. He didn't have his best race this season but he was still strong. Kevin was really excellent. Our standout performance was Alex, who was our third man after lingering in the back of the pack for a lot of the season. Jalen also made a huge improvement over last season, and they ran really well together. With our freshmen and sophomores who ran strong, the future looks really bright for everyone. I'm really happy for Kevin, it was his last collegiate cross country race, and it feels good to see him make it up to number two on the all-time list.

"The women had a few good performances but in general this was a learning experience. We've just got to go better. They know that and want that. It was an eye-opener at WCCs and NCAAs and they know what work they've got to do over the next year to get that done."