SEATTLE — Some people use running as an escape. On Friday, the Pepperdine indoor track team used running for a greater purpose: to give thanks.
With red ribbons in their hair to honor the first responders fighting the Palisades Fire near Pepperdine's campus, the Pepperdine indoor track team broke two school records and ran nine new top-10 times at the University of Washington Preview.
Running against some of the nation's fastest teams on Dempsey Indoor track's world-class surface, junior Caroline Graham and sophomore Lizzy Crawford set school records in the 800-meter dash and the 3,000-meter run, respectively. Graham's time of 2:17.25 broke Talya Holenstein's mark of 2:18.77 set in 2019 — in the same building where Holenstein ran her record. Then in her first-ever indoor track meet, Crawford smashed the school's indoor 3K record by nearly 18 seconds with her time of 10:00.95.
The results were welcome rewards for the Pepperdine track team, which endured countless setbacks due to the Palisades Fire over the last two weeks. Aside from the red ribbons in their hair, the Pepperdine track team dedicated their performances to first responders at the front lines of several wildfires across Los Angeles County.
"With everything that we've been through, just the community in the last few weeks, I wanted to make the race bigger than myself," Crawford said. "The whole time during the race, I was thinking about them and running for them, and really just doing my absolute best for the people who are putting their lives on the line to save our home and our school."
Ever since returning to campus, the team's daily routines and practice plans were upended as the team evacuated the Malibu and Calabasas areas impacted by the wildfires. Most spent nights bouncing between hotels, providing reassurance to out-of-state parents, or checking the Watch Duty app that most Southern California natives check instinctively nowadays. Even when they trained outside at Moorpark College, conditions were either ashy, windy, or both.
"The fact that the girls were able to handle all the craziness of the last two weeks, come here and be so composed and run school records was a really great way to start the season," Head coach Lauren Floris said. "It says a lot about how they've grown mentally."
Throughout the meet, Graham, Crawford and the team viewed their return to the track as an escape from the devastating fire season that upended the start of the spring semester. In the lead-up to the race, the team grew closer together as wildfires threatened to tear campus and most of Los Angeles County apart.
"With all that we've endured, we've all come to the realization that we're so much more than just runners," Graham added. "At the end of the day, that [perspective] helps your performance. With everything that we've been through, I went into this race thinking, 'The hard part's over. This is where I get to show how tough I am.'"
Graham's heat of the 800-meter dash did not take the race easy. Taking an aggressive approach from the get-go, Graham went through the first half of the race in 63 seconds and hung with the leaders as long as she could. Although that first lap was on pace for a time of 2:06 — well below the school record — that strategy set Graham up to break the record. She wanted to stick with the leaders, no matter how fast they were going.
"We hadn't really worked on that kind of speed in practice, except for 200-meter repeats, so the fact that she stuck her nose in the race, hung on and fought hard to finish was a pretty good result," Floris said.
As the pace got more difficult to hold in the second half, Graham stayed mentally engaged by remembering her motivation for racing: to honor the first responders battling the blazes in California, and to honor her teammates for all they endured.
"Going down that last stretch I knew that it was going to be a little close, so I really just tried to hone in on our purpose for the race, which was to honor the first responders," Graham said. "And it was definitely difficult too, because none of my teammates were in my heat with me. But this wouldn't have been possible without them, because they're the reason why I enjoy running."
Running down the home stretch, Graham knew she was capable of breaking the record, but she knew it would be close. After barreling into the finish line, Graham waited near the finish line to read her time as adrenaline rapidly wore off. Then she felt elation.
But Graham wasn't the only 800-meter runner with a great race. Friday's meet could very well be the fastest indoor 800-meter heat in program history. Junior Ashley Eagan's time of 2:21.81 ranks third, sophomore Hannah Bruner returned from a semester abroad with a 2:22.46 (4th all-time), while freshman Riley Burgess' debut time of 2:27.81 ranks ninth all-time. Given the talent on the mid-distance squad, these marks might not last long.
"Uplifting the rest of the middle-distance squad is something that I look forward to the rest of the season," Graham said. "It's such a young team and we're so packed with talent. We do all of our workouts together, and every single rep is together. I know that we're capable of so much."
Shortly after Graham broke the school record, Crawford, Eden Mittelsdorf and Jessica Guardino toed the line of the 3,000-meter run with red ribbons in their hair. Once the gun went off, Crawford bolted to the front within the first 50 meters and didn't look back.
For the next nine minutes, Crawford was alone at the front. Although Crawford does most of her training runs by herself, staying mentally motivated in the packed, noisy arena was an entirely different beast. Lap after lap, Crawford used cheers from her teammates on the infield and her internal drive to keep up the pace. Eventually, she had a 10-second gap on the rest of the field and she started to lap people. But she kept going.
"I tried to keep my focus on what I was running for," Crawford said. "I told myself I have to make the best of this moment that I'm in, and I can't give up. When you are running alone in the front, it's so easy to fall back, or not do your best. And even though I think if I had competitors in the race, I would have performed better, I think I did the best with the circumstances I had. I think I made the most of it."
Her perseverance paid off. Once she crossed the finish line all alone, Crawford pointed to the red ribbon in her hair — offering one final gesture of thanks to the first responders back in Malibu.
"I was just glad to be done, but I was also proud of myself for what I was able to accomplish with the circumstances I faced," Crawford said. "To be able to see all the girls I competed with in that heat congratulating me reminded me of why I love this sport so much. People are just so kind and generous and supportive of each other."
For Crawford, the school record not only gives her motivation for the rest of the season, but also doubles as a reward for her perseverance. The sophomore missed all of her freshman indoor track season due to having foot surgery in the offseason. By the time she was healthy last spring, Crawford had just enough in the tank to run in three meets before the season ended. Now that she's healthy, she's aiming for much more than running in three meets.
"I'm definitely just shooting to break 10 [minutes] and even move the record up as much as I possibly can," Crawford said. "I want to train super hard over these next two weeks and make sure I set myself up in the best position possible to shoot high for like, even, like, a 20-second PR if I can. I want to get in a good, competitive race and keep everything healthy."
To cap off the meet, Pepperdine's 4x400-meter relay team of Isabella Reyes, Lexi Thomas, Maddy Ortman and Brittany Rivas nearly broke a third school record. Their time of 4:04.48 narrowly missed the school record set in Pepperdine's first indoor season back in 2016. With this debut time, Floris believes it is not a matter of if the Waves can break the 4x400 record, but when.
"Across four legs and three hand-offs, there's definitely some room for the team to beat the record this season," Floris said. "I know they're going for it, so it would be really exciting to see them break that this season."
Pepperdine's next opportunity for school records is nearly one month from now. The Waves will head to Reno for the Wolf Pack Classic, held at the University of Nevada from Feb. 7-8.
THE RUNDOWN
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The 400-meter dash featured two solid collegiate debuts from Lexi Thomas (1:00.00, 4th all-time at Pepperdine) and Brittany Rivas (1:01.15, 6th).
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Senior Eden Mittelsdorf moved from sixth to third all-time at Pepperdine with her 3,000-meter time of 10:23.92 — a new personal best by 22 seconds.
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Pepperdine's 4x400-meter relay time of 4:04.48 ranks fifth in the MPSF conference so far. All four times ahead of them are under the four-minute mark.
MOVING ON UP
A running list of all the top-10 marks set this season
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400-meter dash:
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800-meter dash:
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3,000 meters:
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4x400-meter relay:
