MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine track saw three athletes move into the top-30 of the NCAA Division I West Region rankings in three different events following a strong weekend at the Stanford Invitational.
Lizzy Crawford in the 10K, Elijah Gentry in the 3000m steeplechase and Parker Buchheit in the 800m each set new program records in their respective events while further positioning themselves to qualify for the First Round of the NCAA Championships.
The trio's performances came at the highly competitive annual outdoor meet hosted by Stanford University, where the Waves posted multiple impressive marks against elite regional competition.
"Lizzy, Eli and Parker all rose to the occasion at Stanford and now they are well positioned to qualify for the First Round of the National Championships," noted head coach Lauren Floris following the meet.
Buchheit, a graduate student from Powder Springs, Ga., posted a new career-best of 1:49.32 in the 800m to win his heat and set a new program record at Stanford. His time now stands at the No. 28 in the West region and is the top-time in the event among all WCC programs. Buchheit has shown steady improvement throughout the season, lowering his 800m time in each of his races, from 1:51.09 indoors to 1:50.48 earlier this outdoor season, before breaking through with the 1:49.32 performance. Last season, 1:48.68 was the mark to qualify for the NCAA First Round.
Crawford, a junior from Thornton, Colo., continued to rewrite the record books with another program-best in a distance event. In her inaugural 10K run with the Waves at Stanford, she logged a time of 33:44.39, setting the standard by over three minutes. Her time puts her in 27th in the region currently, and in prime position to qualify for the NCAA First Round, as this past season saw 34:19 as the qualification mark. Her decorated track career in Malibu now includes individual program records in the indoor 3K and 5K, along with the outdoor 5K and 10K.
Gentry, a sophomore hailing from New York, N.Y., logged a time of 8:49.70 in the 3000m steeplechase at Stanford. The new mark puts him in 27th in the region in his first run in the event as a Wave. His time also now puts him in the top-20 among all sophomores in the country in the event this season. Gentry's success has spanned throughout the academic year as he was a key piece of the cross country squad in the fall which placed 7th at the WCC Championships. His time also puts him under last season's NCAA qualification mark of 8:50.81.
The trio will look to join Karl Winter (2021 & 2022) as the lone Waves in program history to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims. The unprecedented success regionally this season reflects the program's continued rise and the strength of this year's distance and middle distance groups.
The University of Arkansas is set to host the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's & Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship First Round for the west region from May 27-30.
Next up for the Waves is the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, set for this Saturday in Pomona, Calif.
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.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine cross country/track news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineXCTR.
