SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — Wrapping up a busy week of racing, a group of Pepperdine cross country athletes toed the line at The Master's XC Invitational, held in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Saturday.

While the men's team didn't field enough runners to finish with a team score, a full women's team led by freshman Grace Simpson helped Pepperdine place 19th in a race featuring over 200 athletes. Simpson's 6-kilometer time of 23:50.70 was not only 72nd overall, but also a personal best at that distance. Jessica Guardino (98th place), Kayla Renner (142nd), Hannah Renager (148th) and Lacey Reedy (152nd place) rounded out the five scoring runners for the women's team.

Placing all five runners in the top 11, Salt Lake Community College won the women's 6K with a score of 35 points. Competing without its top seven runners, the Waves women finished with 475 points.

For the men, freshman Colin Knowles clocked a 27:33.30 8-kilometer time to lead the Waves. Daniel Whitaker and true freshman Alex Nield — the latter of whom made his season debut — placed 180th and 183rd, respectively, out of 200 runners.

The full squad will be back in action on Oct. 19 at the Highlander Invitational — the final race of the regular season. All pertinent information can be found on the cross country team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.