Marissa Kerby
Staff Writer
Cross country captain: Sam Hudson
While most college students were throwing together crazy Halloween costumes, Sam Hudson was proudly wearing his Pepperdine Cross Country jersey. While most college students were traveling to all the best parties, Sam Hudson was traveling to Northern California to race in the WCC Championships. While most college students were thinking about the haunting festivities, Sam Hudson had one thing on his mind—racing.
Hudson, a junior on the men’s cross country team, has led the Waves as captain of the cross country team and one of the team’s top scorers. He also maintains a 4.0 grade point average. He was named to the West Coast Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll following his sophomore year. In his spare time, he tutors other students. And, believe it or not, he still has a social life.
Running always came first for Hudson, and at times, it wasn’t easy. He grew up in Coppell, Texas, and attended Coppell High School. “I didn’t make the cut for the basketball team,” said Hudson, “but I wanted to do a school sport besides football.” The high school cross country coach recruited Hudson after watching one of his soccer games, figuring he’d be a good runner. He now holds his high school records in the distance medley relay as well as in the 4×1500 meter race.
Hudson is a junior at Pepperdine University majoring in finance. He spent his last semester of his sophomore year abroad in Hong Kong. The rest of his team was back in Malibu running track and training for the upcoming cross country season. As a dedicated runner who was committed to his teammates, Hudson stayed in shape in the foreign city by joining the host college’s track team.
“That was really cool,” stated Hudson, “because I was able to train with and race against the local Chinese students.” In fact, Hudson won the 1500 meter and 5000 meter races at the Hong Kong Inter-Collegiate Championships.
Despite his success abroad, Hudson mentioned how tough it was at the beginning of cross country season to get back into the swing of things with his team in the United States.
But the beginning of the season wasn’t the only tough part. Pepperdine’s cross country coach Dick Kampmann announced his retirement over summer. The position is now held by Robert Radnoti, who did not re-hire the boys’ coach, Ramon Chavez, for the 2006 season. The team had a rough time adjusting to the different coaching techniques and staff.
“It’s been a rough transition,” said Julia Frudden, a sophomore on the women’s cross country team. “We’ve pretty much been looking to our captains and other seniors for support and guidance.”
As captain, Hudson was able to keep the team together. With his great personality and leadership abilities, he kept the morale of the team high as they tried to adjust to the transition.
Hudson pointed out that “not only were there new faces in charge, but their training philosophies were completely different—whether these changes were for better or worse is yet to be seen.” But despite the radical changes this season, Hudson dealt with the adversity by using his commitment to his teammates as his source of motivation.
On Oct. 28, Halloween weekend, the Waves traveled to Northern California to compete in the WCC Championships. With the help of the new coach, and Hudson’s dedication to the team, the men’s team placed 6th—Hudson leading the way.
This is the reason why Sam Hudson puts racing first. He lives for this. He lives for the rush of beating Pepperdine’s tough opponents. He lives for overcoming adversity and training through rough times. He lives for his teammates. And he lives for the sport of cross country.
12-02-2006
