MALIBU, California — Sylvia Mosqueda and the Pepperdine men's cross country and track team announced the national letter-of-intent signing by Jakob Knox. Knox is the Waves' first recruit of the 2025 class.
"I am really excited about this young talented student athlete," Mosqueda said. "Jakob Knox will have a huge impact on our men's team. I am super excited to coach him and help develop him into a D1 athlete."
Knox, a Bend (Ore.) Senior High School product, has been a four-year varsity member of both the cross country and track squads. A mid-distance runner by trade, Knox specializes in the 800 and 1600 meters because "there is strategy to them while also running at almost a sprint."
He first heard about Pepperdine from his mother, who grew up near Malibu and had several friends who wanted to attend Pepperdine University.
"One of my teammates had family who went there so I looked up the team," Knox said. "I loved the campus and the team looked very successful — from then on I knew I wanted to be a Wave."
As a freshman, Knox's eighth-place finish at the 5A-4 IMC District Cross Country Championships helped Bend win a district title. The next year, he was the Lava Bears' top finisher at the OSAA 6A State Championship, placing 39th overall. In his most recent season, Knox placed fourth at the 2019 6A-6 Mountain Valley District Championships with a time of 15:56.6.
In track, Knox has recorded personal bests of 4:20.57 in the 1500 meters. Most recently, Knox ran a 1:58.7 in the 800 meters at the 2020 Twilight Trials — a virtual meet held across the country — which was good for sixth place. Prior to that, he helped Bend place third as a team at the 2019 6A District Track meet.
"I want to personally be one of the greatest Pepperdine runners of all time," Knox said. "I like to shoot high and work hard. As a team I believe we can be very successful and qualify for nationals in cross country or track. Under Coach Mosqueda, I believe anything is possible. With great leadership and teamwork this team will be great."
When he is not running, Knox plays basketball and sings in a jazz ensemble. During high school, he participated in a cultural exchange program to Belluno, Italy, Bend's sister city.
Pepperdine is building off of a seventh-place finish in the 2019 WCC Men's Cross Country Championships and a 13th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional, the latter of which is the best result in program history. The Waves will be back in action in spring 2021, as the fall 2020 season was postponed.
