RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Pepperdine cross country concluded its fourth race of the season this morning at the Highlander Invitational on the campus of UC Riverside. In the invitational events, the men placed ninth in the 8K and the women took 20th in the 6K. 

"The team had a lot of breakthrough performances and personal bests today" said Head Coach Lauren Floris. "The pieces are coming together and I'm excited to see how the strides the kids took today play out in the championship part of our season."

Lizzy Crawford was the top Wave for the women, finishing 25th (21:09.9) as Grace Simpson was the next Pepperdine runner to cross the 6K finish line (22:42.6).

In the men's race, Elijah Gentry led the way. He earned 15th with his time of 24:04.1. Other top thirty finishers for the Waves included Patrick Thomas in 26th (24:19.4) and Gordy Nilsen in 29th (24:23.0).

Arizona won the men's 8K, and the Tritons of UC San Diego were victorious in the women's 6K.

FULL RESULTS

The next race for the team will be their first outside of southern California—the WCC Championships in Spokane, Wash. The event is set for Nov. 1.

Pepperdine Men's 8K Finishes

15. Elijah Gentry (24:04.1)

26. Patrick Thomas (24:19.4)

29. Gordy Nilsen (24:23.0)

127. Rowan Nilsen (25:41.9)

129. Kaleb McElfish (25:42.9)

185. Colin Knowles (26:36.5)

203. Beckett Sullivan (26:49.9)

204. Micah Brighton (26:51.0)

Pepperdine Women's 6K Finishes

25. Lizzy Crawford (21:09.9)

130. Grace Simpson (22:42.6)

139. Jessica Guardino (22:49.2)

154. Kennedy Duralde (23:01.7)

160. Hannah Miller (23:05.3)

190. Riley Burgess (23:40.2)

195. Ashley Eagan (23:41.9)

196. Renee Skiera (23:46.4)

215. Hannah Renager (24:17.9)

234. Emma Martinez (24:54.1)

242. Lacey Reedy (25:52.9)

250. Avery Smith (26:23.0) 

ABOUT PEPPERDINE CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK

The Pepperdine cross country/track program has a rich history dating back to the 1950s with six total individual national championships to come through the program. As one of the original three programs sponsored by then George Pepperdine College in 1937, the Waves immediately began to make a mark on the track world stage with eight total Olympians and multiple regional champions throughout the program's history. 

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