Winter Continues to Make Waves' Track History, Qualifies for Second Time at NCAA West Prelims

MALIBU, California – For the second straight year, Pepperdine's distance runner Karl Winter will represent the Waves at the Division I NCAA West Preliminary, as he qualified in the men's 1,500 and 5,000-meters runs, the NCAA announced on Thursday.

Winter (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's HS) will head to Fayetteville, Ark., as the No. 15 seed in the field of 48 athletes in the 1,500 meters and as the No. 46 seed in the field of 48 athletes in the 5,000 meters.

He ran his 1,500 qualifying time, which is also the new school record, at the Bryan Clay Invitational in a time of 3:39.60. Winter's time was 0.98 seconds faster than his previous school record that he set at the same meet last season, which qualified him for his first trip to the NCAA West Preliminary round at College Station, Texas. Last year he became the first Wave to qualify for the NCAA postseason in the program's modern Division I era. Winter ran his 5,000 qualifying time, which is another new school record that he broke twice this season, at the Stanford Invitational in a time of 13:46.80.

This year, the NCAA West Preliminary will take place from Wednesday, May 25 through Saturday, May 28. Winter's first of two possible races in the 1,500 meters is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on May 25; should he advance to the second and final race of the West Preliminary, he will run again on Friday, May 27 at 5:15 p.m. Winter's race in the 5,000 meters is scheduled for Friday, May 27 at 8:10 p.m.

In order to advance from his heat and into the next round of either event, Winter will need to either finish in the top five of his 12-man heat, or be one of the next four fastest times from the four heats in the first round. Additionally, to continue to move forward, he will need to be in the top five of his 12-man heat in Friday's quarterfinal round, or run one of the next two fastest times to make the 2022 NCAA Track and Field National Championships.

The semifinals and the finals in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. from June 8-11.

All of the action will be livestreamed on the SEC Network+ via ESPN.

PEPPERDINE IN THE NCAAS

Winter's first appearance last season snapped a postseason absence dating back to 1969 for the Waves, when Pepperdine Hall of Fame inductee Ron Pettigrew placed fifth in the steeplechase at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships. Pepperdine athletes recorded two NCAA Division II national championships in the 1960s and five in the NAIA in the 1950s.

THIS SEASON SO FAR

Winter is having another successful individual season for Pepperdine. The senior holds four school records as well as a part of two relay teams that have notched new school records this season. His school records range from the one-mile, which hadn't been beaten since 1970, all the way to the 5,000 meters – three of which he has set this year.

At the beginning of the outdoor season, Winter started off strong by anchoring the 4x800 relay and helped his team notch a new school record and a first-place finish in a time of 7:45.13 at the Rossi Relays. At the same meet, Winter was a part of the distance medley relay team that secured a new school record in a time of 10:21.18. A week later, Winter had a first-place finish in the 1,500 meters at the Beach Opener in a time of 3:50.68.

In his first 5,000-meter showing of the season, Winter marked a first-place finish at the Astro Ai Distance Carnival finishing in a time of 13:57.52, which shattered his previous record by 30.6 seconds. Winter then competed at the Bob Larsen Distance Invitational racing in the one-mile, and secured a new school record in a time of 4:02.81. The one-mile school record hadn't been broken since it was set in 1970 by Larry Conard.

Nearly three weeks after Winter's first showing in the 5,000 meters, he ran again in the event at the Stanford Invitational, crushing his previous record finishing in a time of 13:46.80. At the Bryan Clay Invitational, Winter lowered his school record in the 1,500 meters, clocking in at 3:36.60, which was 0.98 seconds faster than his previous record that he set at the same outdoor meet last season. With this time, Winter secured himself in the West's top 48 athletes in that event.

On May 6, Winter ran the 1,500 meters at the Sound Running Track Meet, with a sixth-place finish in a time of 3:40.37. One week later, Winter then ran in the 800 meters at the APU Last Chance meet and collected a second-place finish in his heat with a time of 1:50.41.

Winter Continues to Make Waves' Track History, Qualifies for Second Time at NCAA West Prelims

Players Mentioned

Karl Winter

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