COLFAX, Wash. — Every year in mid-November, hundreds of cross country runners toe the start lines of NCAA Regional races for their last collegiate race.
For most, this is where the road ends. Not alone on a homestretch with green grass and a finish line tape in front of them. Not on a stage with a miniature NCAA trophy in hand. Instead, the road ends in a crowded finishing chute, staggering in a sea of mud-stained, exhausted runners as the blur of the final sprint wears off and the finality of the moment sinks in.
On a cold, grey morning in Colfax, Wash., the Pepperdine cross country team toed the starting line and competed together at the NCAA West Regionals for the final time. The men's team ran three new top-20 10-kilometer times. Five Waves set PRs. Both of head coach Lauren Floris' teams improved on last year's regional finishes — the women by one place and the men by three.
Yet Pepperdine's elusive first NCAA Cross Country Championship appearance will have to wait another year.
This is not unique to Pepperdine. Only the top two teams in each region and the top four finishers from non-qualifying teams make it to the national championships, making the path to the NCAA Cross Country Championships one of the narrowest in college athletics. Pepperdine's lead runners — sophomores Gordy Nilsen and Lizzy Crawford — placed 93rd and 95th, respectively. Competing in one of the toughest regions in the nation, the men's team placed 21st and the women placed 34th.
As it stands, Nilsen and Crawford have a bright future ahead of them. Nilsen tied the program's sixth-fastest 10K time by covering the course in 31:16.2 — shattering his previous personal best by over a minute. His counterpart, Crawford, is experiencing the best women's distance running careers Pepperdine has ever seen. Leading the Waves for the 11th consecutive race, Crawford was in the middle of the crowd throughout her second West Regional appearance, made a late surge in the second half of the race and finished the 6-kilometer course in 21:23.2.
For seniors Eden Mittelsdorf and Elias Spence, Friday was their last cross country race in a Pepperdine singlet. Ever a reliable second runner for the women, Mittelsdorf assumed her role by starting squarely in the chase pack and working her way up 16 places in the first two kilometers before staying in the crowd until she finished her 22 minutes and 18 second-long trek. Aside from a few opening minutes alongside freshman Grace Simpson, Mittelsdorf ran alone.
Spence took a different path in his final cross country race. He stuck with Rowan Nilsen and Kaleb McElfish at the starting gun, settled in towards the back third of the main pack, then moved up slightly in the last half of the race to place 170th. As Pepperdine's fifth runner, his finish solidified the men's team score and ensured the Waves finished ahead of West Coast Conference foes San Francisco (24th) and San Diego (29th).
Dominic Silhol and Elijah Gentry ran two very different races, but both ended up on the program's all-time 10K leaderboard with the 13th and 15th fastest times, respectively. Using a more conservative racing strategy, Silhol was one of two Waves to finish in a better place than he started: The sophomore started squarely in the middle of the crowd, worked his way up at the 8K mark, and then crossed the finish line after 31 minutes and 52.6 seconds of work as the Waves' number three runner.
Gentry, meanwhile, ran with Nilsen from the jump and crossed the line as Pepperdine's fourth runner with a time of 32:02.1. A true freshman and a gifted steeplechase runner in track, Gentry won't have to wait long for another shot at the postseason. His high school personal best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase is on pace to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals in outdoor track.
Should everyone return next year, the men's team is in a prime position to improve. Same goes for the women, who will bring back almost everyone from their postseason squad.
For now, Pepperdine waits. Indoor track season begins in January, and the Waves will travel an even tougher road to the NCAAs. Only the top 24 athletes in each event will make it to the NCAA Indoor Track Championships. Meanwhile, the men will wait, take a week or two off and begin training for their outdoor track season that starts in the spring. A full track schedule is forthcoming.
