Thursday, May 14
Redlands, Calif.
5:25 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
at
Redlands Final Qualifier
Track's Buchheit and Gentry Complete Events in Redlands
5/14/2026 10:00:00 PM | Track
REDLANDS, Calif. – Pepperdine track had sent Elijah Gentry and Parker Buchheit to the Redlands Final Qualifier. The two Waves each competed in a single event in an effort to improve their bids to the NCAA West Regional.Â
Buchheit's event was first up—the 800m. The Georgia Tech transfer won the event by over four seconds with a time of 1:50.07. His best time this season still remains the 1:49.32 program record he ran at the Bryan Clay Invitational.Â
Gentry capped off the night in the 3000m steeplechase. Tonight he ultimately finished second, clocking a finish of 8:58.46. So far, Stanford's campus has seen his best time yet at 8:49.70.Â
Full results can be found here.
According to TFFRS, the three Wave hopefuls have not experienced any ranking shake-ups in the west region. Lizzy Crawford remains 38th in the women's 10K (33:44.39), Gentry 48th in the steeplechase (8:49.70), and Buchheit 87th in the 800m (1:49.13).Â
The NCAA will announce the field of athletes on May 21. Runners earn an auto-bid by being within the top-48 in their area. If these results hold, Crawford and Gentry would become the second and third Pepperdine runners to appear at an NCAA regional. The meet is set for May 27-30 in Fayetteville, Ark.
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.Â
Â
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine cross country/track news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineXCTR.
Buchheit's event was first up—the 800m. The Georgia Tech transfer won the event by over four seconds with a time of 1:50.07. His best time this season still remains the 1:49.32 program record he ran at the Bryan Clay Invitational.Â
Gentry capped off the night in the 3000m steeplechase. Tonight he ultimately finished second, clocking a finish of 8:58.46. So far, Stanford's campus has seen his best time yet at 8:49.70.Â
Full results can be found here.
According to TFFRS, the three Wave hopefuls have not experienced any ranking shake-ups in the west region. Lizzy Crawford remains 38th in the women's 10K (33:44.39), Gentry 48th in the steeplechase (8:49.70), and Buchheit 87th in the 800m (1:49.13).Â
The NCAA will announce the field of athletes on May 21. Runners earn an auto-bid by being within the top-48 in their area. If these results hold, Crawford and Gentry would become the second and third Pepperdine runners to appear at an NCAA regional. The meet is set for May 27-30 in Fayetteville, Ark.
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.Â
Â
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine cross country/track news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineXCTR.
