Thursday, May 28
Fayetteville, Ark.
7:10 p.m. PST
Pepperdine University
at
NCAA West Preliminary
Photo by: Brendan Maloney
Track's Lizzy Crawford Ends Historic Season at NCAA West Preliminary
5/28/2026 9:50:00 PM | Track
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Pepperdine track standout Lizzy Crawford made history as the first female Wave to compete at an NCAA track regional. Crossing the finish line in 35:14.84, Crawford secured 41st place in the 10K at the West Preliminary, hosted by the University of Arkansas.Â
Despite storm clouds throughout the day, the evening saw clear skies and no rain—albeit with high humidity.Â
BYU's Jane Hedengren won the event with a time of 31:27.30. Hedengren, who is the collegiate record holder, set her top mark in the same Stanford Invitational race where Crawford ran her program-record and qualifying time of 33:44.39. The top-12 finishers will move on to Eugene, Ore. for the national championships. The full results can be found here.
Crawford concludes her junior season holding four new program records. 16:23.13 in the 5K, 33:44.39 in the 10K, 16:51.31 in the indoor 5K, and 9:52.04 in the indoor 3K. Next season she will aim to join Karl Winter as the only multi-time Waves at an NCAA regional. First up, however, is the upcoming cross country season.
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
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FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine cross country/track news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineXCTR.
Â
Despite storm clouds throughout the day, the evening saw clear skies and no rain—albeit with high humidity.Â
BYU's Jane Hedengren won the event with a time of 31:27.30. Hedengren, who is the collegiate record holder, set her top mark in the same Stanford Invitational race where Crawford ran her program-record and qualifying time of 33:44.39. The top-12 finishers will move on to Eugene, Ore. for the national championships. The full results can be found here.
Crawford concludes her junior season holding four new program records. 16:23.13 in the 5K, 33:44.39 in the 10K, 16:51.31 in the indoor 5K, and 9:52.04 in the indoor 3K. Next season she will aim to join Karl Winter as the only multi-time Waves at an NCAA regional. First up, however, is the upcoming cross country season.
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.
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Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track
