As we turned our calendars into the month of September the Pepperdine men’s and women’s cross country teams took to Alumni Park on Wednesday for what was the cross country season opener.
With September 1st being the earliest date possible to start the season Coach Radnoti and the cross country teams strategically scheduled their meet for Wednesday making them eligible by NCAA rules to start practicing earlier in August.
Titled the Malibu Oceanside Open both San Diego University and Cal State Bakersfield competed against the Waves in a shorter-than-usual 5K race representing a warm-up race for the competitive season to come. Though most season races are 8K for the men and 6K for the women this 5K race around Alumni Park took the runners in loops running up and down the gruesome grassy hills around the theme tower and along PCH.
The men raced at 6 p.m. and Pepperdine senior Seth Allison powered through the finish line in first place with a 16:16 time. Teammate sophomore Sean King finished right behind with a 16:18 time. The top five finishers in the race were all Pepperdine Waves earning the team a perfect score of 15.
In the women’s race the Waves also had a strong presence pulling out a victory past Bakersfield with Waves juniors Aneasha Lawrence Emily Branch and Hannah DeWalt finishing second third and fourth place respectively.
Some of Pepperdine’s women runners sat out this race but will be ready for the meet next Saturday.
With no race during the upcoming Labor Day weekend the men’s and women’s cross country teams race next on September 11th in the UC Irvine Invitational in Irvine California.
