SANTA BARBARA, California – Caila Tongco won three races and set a school record, while Abbey Meck also garnered a school record, as the Pepperdine track teams began their outdoor season with the annual three-team meet against UC Santa Barbara and Westmont on Saturday.
 
"It turned out to be a pretty good day for us," Pepperdine Coach Robert Radnoti said. "It was pretty windy, cool, but it wasn't raining, so were happy about that. This gave us an opportunity to see what we need to work on for the next few weeks so we can get on track for accomplishing all of our goals. Our coaches are doing an awesome job. Caila and Abby are continuing where they left off in the indoor season, and that's exciting."
 
Tongco (Kent, Wash./Kent-Meridian HS), a sophomore, won the women's 100 meters, 200 meters and 100-meter hurdles. She set a Pepperdine record in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.06 seconds, breaking Emma Engelland's mark set in 2017. Her time of 12.30 seconds in the 100 moved her to the #3 spot on Pepperdine's all-time list, and her 25.85 in the 200 puts her at #5 in that event. During indoor season, she set the school record in the 60-meter hurdles.
 
Meck (Santa Cruz, Calif./San Lorenzo Valley HS), a sophomore, posted a record in the mile as she placed third in 5:09.74, breaking Katie Engel's record set in 2016. Meck, who set indoor records this spring in the mile and 5,000 meters, also had Pepperdine's best finish in the 3,000 meters today.
 
There were a number of other strong finishes on the women's side. Sophomore Sheridan Davis (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge HS), who took second place in the 100 hurdles in 15.63, good for #5 on the all-time list. Freshman Alexa Ortega (Chatsworth, Calif./St. Genevieve HS) took fifth place in the 200 meters, sophomore Eden Dorsey (San Antonio, Texas/Young Women's Leadership Academy) took fifth in the 400 meters and freshman Mahala Bayless (Mabank, Texas/Mabank HS) was fifth in the 400 hurdles. The Waves' top finisher on the 800 was junior Talya Holenstein (Portland, Ore./La Salle Catholic College Prep).
 
For the men's team, making its 2019 debut, freshman Karl Winter (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's HS) had a fourth-place finish in the mile and was the Waves' top finisher in the 3,000. Sophomore Brandon Davis (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) took fifth place in the 800.
 
Pepperdine's next meet is March 2 at Long Beach State's Beach Opener.