Two school records were broken at the first meet of the season at the UCSB Gaucho Roundup on Saturday in Santa Barbara.
In her first race at the college level freshman runner Lauren Lodge hit the tape in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:43.66 taking second place.
Sophomore Conrad Wozniak placed third in the 3000-meter run beating the school record with a time of 8:21.02. The previous school record was held by Assistant Coach Chris Ogle.Lodge’s record time was two seconds faster than the school’s previous best 4:45.64 set in 2008 by then-freshman Chelsea Wishard.
“I am really excited about breaking the school record especially so early in the season Lodge said. It was the first time that I’ve run the 1500-meter and I absolutely love the distance.”
Lodge would have won the event and the meet’s title if not for UCSB’s Andrea Jacobs who finished just .56 seconds faster.Head Coach Robert Radnoti was proud of her performance.
“She has been training so well this spring and it’s really exciting to see her do so well said Head Coach Robert Radnoti. That was her first race in college and to see her go out there and shatter the score is really exciting.”
Lodge said she still believes that even with record-breaking performance there is room for improvement.
“I am hoping to drop even more time this season as we start doing faster speed work in practices Lodge said.
Freshman Kenny Smith raced beside Wozniak in the 3,000-meter race, coming in sixth place with a time of 8:55.79.
The women placed similarly to the men in the 3,000-meter race: freshman Elizabeth Coe took third place and senior Brieanna Carroll, finished fifth. Coe recorded a time of 10:22.04, .9 seconds behind the school record, which is currently held by then-junior Courtney Young. Caroll was a few seconds behind with a time of 10:25.79.
Pepperdine was also successful in sprint events. Although no personal or school records were broken, sophomore Brittany Clark placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.94, sophomore Amanda Ajdari came in third at 12.98, and sophomore Bridgette Walker followed closely on her heels in fourth place with a time of 13.00. Adjari also placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.69.
Sophomore Aneka Myles performed the best scores in the field, nearly breaking personal records in both the shot put (9.55 meters) and discus (29.02 meters).
Despite the results, Radnoti said there is still room for improvement. The team is only in its fourth season.
It is the first meet of the season so it was an opportunity for everyone to get back into the spirit Radnoti said. We will probably break a few more records [in the next meet] but at the start of the season that isn’t our focus. We want to focus on training so we can peak at the end of the season.”
Pepperdine’s next meet the West Coast Track Challenge will be at home Saturday Feb. 28 and will include Loyola Marymount and San Diego. The all-running meet starts at 10 a.m. The Waves will then head to Florida on Sunday Feb. 29 to compete at the University of South Florida in addition to participating in a week long Project Serve at the Hope Children’s Home in Florida.