Friday, September 4
Malibu, Calif.
9:00 a.m. PT
Pepperdine University
vs
Waves Invitational
Photo by: Rory Christiansen
Cross Country Readied to Start Season with Waves Invitational
9/3/2026 9:00:00 AM | Cross Country
MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine cross country begins the 2026 season tomorrow in the annual on-campus Waves Invitational. The men's 6K at 9 a.m. and women's 4K at 9:45 a.m. will both be hosted at Alumni Park.
"The teams are shaping up really well, their workouts the past few weeks have gone super well and the chemistry of the group is really clicking," head coach Lauren Floris said. "I'm really excited to get them in a race atmosphere and see what they can do!"
Both Wave teams will compete against runners from Cal Lutheran, Golden West, Moorpark, and Soka. The women's team will also try to outpace athletes from Cal State Bakersfield, La Sierra, and USC.
For those unable to attend, live times will be provided by FinishedResults, here.
Prior to the season the women's team were picked seventh in the West Coast Conference's (WCC) coaches poll with the men slotting in at fifth. Additionally, senior standout Lizzy Crawford made the All-WCC Women's Preseason Team. The departure of Gonzaga, Oregon State, and Washington State means that the WCC is down to eight men's squads and nine women's this year.
At the 2025 Waves Invitational Lizzy Crawford paced all women, winning the 4K (13:09.1) en route to a fourth-place team finish. Elijah Gentry was Pepperdine's fastest man, finishing second (17:54.2) amongst 66 entrants. Overall his team finished second.
The men's team has seven newcomers: Luke Bremmer, Andrew DeYoung, Noah Harris, Reed Robinson, Ashton Smedley, Max Tsolakis, and Christian Weber. Additionally, they retain four of the five top scorers at last year's NCAA West Regionals: Gentry, Gordy and Rowan Nilsen, and Dominic Silhol.
Seven first-year Waves have joined on the women's side, too. The inaugural collegiate race for Mackenzie Buxton, Reese Duralde (sister of teammate Kennedy), Claire Hipszer, Mia Hodgson, Clara Michael, Presley Pate, and Allie Smith will come this Friday. Crawford headlines the team's top returners from the NCAA West Regionals, who lost just one runner to graduation.
The Riverside Invitational is next up for the Waves, set for Saturday, Sept. 19 in the titular Inland Empire city.
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.
"The teams are shaping up really well, their workouts the past few weeks have gone super well and the chemistry of the group is really clicking," head coach Lauren Floris said. "I'm really excited to get them in a race atmosphere and see what they can do!"
Both Wave teams will compete against runners from Cal Lutheran, Golden West, Moorpark, and Soka. The women's team will also try to outpace athletes from Cal State Bakersfield, La Sierra, and USC.
For those unable to attend, live times will be provided by FinishedResults, here.
Prior to the season the women's team were picked seventh in the West Coast Conference's (WCC) coaches poll with the men slotting in at fifth. Additionally, senior standout Lizzy Crawford made the All-WCC Women's Preseason Team. The departure of Gonzaga, Oregon State, and Washington State means that the WCC is down to eight men's squads and nine women's this year.
At the 2025 Waves Invitational Lizzy Crawford paced all women, winning the 4K (13:09.1) en route to a fourth-place team finish. Elijah Gentry was Pepperdine's fastest man, finishing second (17:54.2) amongst 66 entrants. Overall his team finished second.
The men's team has seven newcomers: Luke Bremmer, Andrew DeYoung, Noah Harris, Reed Robinson, Ashton Smedley, Max Tsolakis, and Christian Weber. Additionally, they retain four of the five top scorers at last year's NCAA West Regionals: Gentry, Gordy and Rowan Nilsen, and Dominic Silhol.
Seven first-year Waves have joined on the women's side, too. The inaugural collegiate race for Mackenzie Buxton, Reese Duralde (sister of teammate Kennedy), Claire Hipszer, Mia Hodgson, Clara Michael, Presley Pate, and Allie Smith will come this Friday. Crawford headlines the team's top returners from the NCAA West Regionals, who lost just one runner to graduation.
The Riverside Invitational is next up for the Waves, set for Saturday, Sept. 19 in the titular Inland Empire city.
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.
Players Mentioned
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