Waves Notch Multiple Personal Records and Continue to Climb All-Time Lists at Both UCLA Outdoor Meets

Friday, March 24

Los Angeles, Calif.

5:00 p.m. PT

Pepperdine University

Bob Larsen Distance Invitational

Patrick Thomas

Photo by: Jeff Golden

Waves Notch Multiple Personal Records and Continue to Climb All-Time Lists at Both UCLA Outdoor Meets

3/25/2023 8:09:00 PM | Track

By: by Athletic Communications

WESTWOOD, Calif. – The Pepperdine men's and women's track teams competed at two different UCLA meets this weekend running at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival on Friday night and the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Collegiate on Saturday afternoon. There were 25 new personal records and multiple Waves earning their names on the Pepperdine all-time lists.

"This weekend was everything we could have asked for," said head coach Lauren Floris. "Great weather, good competition and lots of amazing performances for our athletes. I am so proud of everyone!"

On Friday night at Drake Stadium on the campus of UCLA, sophomore Eden Mittelsdorf (Nashville, Tenn./Brentwood HS) ran in the women's 5,000 meters, collecting a new personal record time of 18:98.82, which also marks her name ninth on the Pepperdine all-time list. Mittelsdorf's time also qualifies her to compete in at the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific. In the men's 5,000 meters, junior Johnathan Flint (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound HS) crossed the finish line in a new personal record time of 14:40.77, which moved him from seventh on the all-time list to fifth. Freshman Patrick Thomas (Paso Robles, Calif./Mission College Prep) also recorded a new personal record in the men's 5,000 meters in a time of 14:51.27, which is good for eighth all-time and also qualifies him for Bryan Clay. Graduate student Will Bullock (Marietta, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain HS/Eastern Illinois) also ran a personal best on Friday night in the men's 5,000 meters in a time of 15:14.75.

In the Waves' third race on Friday, senior Olivia Miller (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS) had the squad's fastest time in the women's 1,500 meters coming in at 4:41.37. Junior Elle Shrader (Boerne, Texas/Boerne-Samuel V. Champion HS), sophomore CeCe Fleenor (Alexandria, Va./Bishop O'Connell HS) and freshmen Ashley Eagan (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg HS), Caroline Graham (Hockessin, Del./Delaware Military Academy), Savannah Shaw (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown STEM Academy) and Faith Talbott (McKinney, Texas/McKinney Boyd HS) all ran personal records in the 1,500 meters. The men's 1,500 meters followed the women's, with freshman Ryan Fabian (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard HS) having the team's fastest time of 4:04.34. Freshman Kai Newman (Temecula, Calif./Linfield Christian HS) also ran a personal record. Pepperdine's final race on Friday night was the women's 10,000 meters with senior Skyler Danley (Easton, Pa./Easton Area HS) clocking in at 38:46.08, which puts her sixth on the Pepperdine all-time list.

On Saturday, the first race for the Waves was the women's 4x100m relay with freshmen Isabella Reyes (Caldwell, Idaho), Jenna Parsio (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro HS), Mia Skuraton (Mendham, N.J./Perkiomen School) and sophomore Kaley Peterson (Sunnyvale, Calif./Saint Francis HS) collecting a season-best time of 48.83. The second race of the day was the women's 400 meters with Skuraton and Parsio both marking their names on the Pepperdine all-time list. Skuraton finished with a time of 58.98, which is good for sixth all-time, and Parsio clocked in at 1:00.06, which is good for ninth all-time.

The third race was the women's 100 meters, with Peterson crossing the line at 12.10, which is a new personal record and keeps her fourth all-time. Reyes also marked a new personal record with a time of 13.03. The first race for the Waves' men was the 100 meters with junior William Watkins (Mill Valley, Calif./Marin Catholic HS) collecting a new personal record of 11.17 and stays second on the all-time list. In the women's 800m, Miller clocked in at 2:17.49, which is a new personal record and moves her from ninth all-time to sixth. Graham was second for the Waves in the 800 meters coming in, in a time of 2:24.77 which was a personal best. Junior Kira Graves (Duarte, Calif./Arcadia HS) ran a season-best in the 800m in a time of 2:26.17. Fleenor also ran in the 800m with a college-best of 2:29.87.

The men's 800 meters was after the women's, with junior Ryan Hemphill (Visalia, Calif./Redwood HS) having a third-place overall finish in a time of 1:49.82. Hemphill is the current school record holder in the 800m with a time of 1:49.81 that he set last year. Freshmen Spencer Mueller (Fresno, Calif./Clovis North HS), Joshua Bergers (Cohasset, Mass./IMG Academy) and Thomas all ran personal records in the 800m. Mueller also marked his name higher on the Pepperdine all-time list, moving from eighth to sixth with a time of 1:54.97.

Sophomore Maddy Ortman (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian HS) ran the women's 400-meter hurdles for the first time collegiately, finishing in a time of 1:09.23, which was good for an eighth-place overall finish. Skuraton had another personal record on the day, this time in the women's 200 meters clocking in at 26.86.

The Waves will be back on the track in one week, on Saturday April 1 at the Vince O'Boyle Track and Field Classic hosted by UC Irvine.