MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine Track and head coach Lauren Floris have announced the full schedule for the 2026 season. The team begins action on Jan. 30 in Boston, Mass.
"The team made some great strides this fall that are going to serve them well as we hop on the track this month," said head coach Lauren Floris. "I won't be surprised if we see more records fall this year than last!"
Boston University welcomes the Waves to the Bay State for two days of action on Jan. 30-31. The John Thomas Terrier Classic is named in honor of their alumnus, who in 1958 became the first high-jumper to clear seven feet indoors. He was also an Olympian at the 1960 and 1964 Games.
Concurrently, other members of the blue and orange will travel to the Southwest for the New Mexico Team Open. The squad's time in Albuquerque, N.M. is set for the 30th and 31st of January.
Two weeks later, the team will pivot from a Lobo to Wolf Pack-hosted event. They will travel to Reno, Nev. for the annual Battle Born Classic.
In between two meets in the Silver State, only male sprinters will compete in the Rossi Relays in Claremont, Calif.
The team returns to "The Biggest Little City in the World" for the MPSF Championships March 1 in Reno, Nev. It is the last scheduled meet for Pepperdine outside the state of California this season.
The Waves travel along the 101 for the Gaucho Relays in Santa Barbara, Calif. Competition starts 12:10 p.m. March 7.
From Santa Barbara County to Orange County, the next scheduled event for Pepperdine is the Ben Brown Invitational (March 12) and Astro AI Invitational (March 13)—both in Fullerton, Calif.
The Waves return to Los Angeles for two days of action March 27 and 28. The UCLA-hosted event is named in honor of local track icons and pioneers Bob Larsen and Jim Bush.
Stanford is the next school to host the Waves track stars, with competition in Palo Alto, Calif. set for April 3 and 4.
A trio of East Los Angeles meets are next on the docket for Pepperdine. Pomona-Pitzer hosts their invitational Saturday, April 11, followed by Azusa Pacific's Bryan Clay Invitational (April 16-18), and rounded out by the Leo Invitational in La Verne, Calif. (April 17-18).
1983 Olympic medalist and UC Irvine graduate Steve Scott is being celebrated by his alma mater May 1-2 with an invitational named in his honor. The Waves will be participants in what is their penultimate regular season event.
The Franson Last Chance in Azusa, Calif. (May 8-9) is what hopeful Pepperdine runners will set their sights on in advance of later NCAA-sanctioned events.
West prelims take place in Fayetteville, Ark. on May 27 through 30, with the final prize, the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. (June 10-12).
Pepperdine Track Schedule
Jan. 30-31: John Thomas Terrier Classic (Boston, Mass.) @ 7:00 a.m.
Jan. 30-31: New Mexico Open (Albuquerque, N.M.) @ 2:00 p.m.
Feb. 13-14: Battle Born Classic (Reno, Nev.) @ 1:00 p.m.
Feb. 28: Rossi Relays (Claremont, Calif.) @ 11:30 a.m. [men only]
March 1: MPSF Championships (Reno, Nev.) @ TBD
March 7: Gaucho Relays (Santa Barbara, Calif.) @ 12:10 p.m.
March 12-13: Ben Brown / Astro AI Invitational (Fullerton, Calif.) @ 4:30 p.m.
March 27-28: Bob Larsen / Jim Bush Invitational (Westwood, Calif.) @ 7:00 p.m.
April 3-4: Stanford Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.) @ 10:00 a.m.
April 11: Pomona-Pitzer Invitational (Pomona, Calif.) @ 10:00 a.m.
April 16-18: Bryan Clay Invitational (Azusa, Calif.) @ 7:30 a.m.
April 17-18: Leo Invitational (La Verne, Calif.) @ 12:00 p.m.
May 1-2: Steve Scott Invitational (Irvine, Calif.) @ 10:00 a.m.
May 8-9: Franson Last Chance (Azusa, Calif.) @ 6:00 p.m.
May 27-30: NCAA West Preliminary (Fayetteville, Ark.) @ TBD
June 10-12: NCAA Championships (Eugene, Ore.) @ TBD
All times Pacific
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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