Nine Pepperdine Runners Win WCC All-Academic Awards
6/10/2021 1:01:00 PM | Cross Country
MALIBU, Calif. — Six Pepperdine women's cross country runners and three men's cross country runners won West Coast Conference All-Academic awards on Thursday.
The women's team's six nominees were the most Pepperdine has had since a dozen women's cross country runners won WCC All-Academic awards in 2015. In addition, junior journalism major Karl Winter (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's HS) not only won his second-straight WCC All-Academic First Team award, but also was one of two runners with a 4.0-grade point average (the other was Portland's Sofia Castiglioni).
Three of the women's team members were repeat winners: Juniors Annelies Ondersma (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./University Liggett School), Key Pearson (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Vistamar School) and Riley Wright (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol HS) made the honorable mention list for the second time in their careers. Senior Cassidy Aberson (Vacaville, Calif./Vacaville HS), plus sophomores Skyler Danley (Easton, Pa./Easton Area HS) and Olivia Miller (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS) picked up their first honorable mention nominations this year.
As for the men's team, Pepperdine's other nominees were senior Preston Gromer (Casper, Wyo./Kelly Walsh HS) and junior Kyle McCabe (Westminster, Colo./Holy Family HS), both of whom notched their third and second honorable mention selections, respectively.
Pepperdine men's cross country is not only coming off of a fifth-place showing at the WCC Cross Country Championships, but also its first appearance at the NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary meet. The women's cross country team is expected to return its top six varsity runners from 2020-21, plus a six-women incoming freshman class.
Â
Players Mentioned
