MARC CHOQUETE
Staff Writer
Despite all the scary costumes over Halloween weekend, there was probably nothing scarier for the Pepperdine cross country squad than the sight of Portland getting off the bus at the West Coast Conference championships last weekend in Belmont, Calif.
The University of Portland squad dominated the proceedings and took first for both the men’s and women’s races. On the men’s side, their runners placed first, second and third, along with owning six of the top 10 spots. On the women’s side, Portland runners placed first and third, taking four of the top 10 spots. And if that’s not enough, the Portland men have taken the WCC Championships for the 27th straight year along with a first-place finish every year, and the women have taken nine out of the past 10 WCCs.
Sophomore Sam Hudson said he wasn’t intimidated by the Portland feat.
“Running against a team like Portland is good for a young team like us,” Hudson said. “It shows us those guys aren’t superhuman; they’re skinny college kids same as us.”
While Pepperdine may not have taken six spots in the top 10, there were several worthy individual performances.
Senior Chad Trammell brought his A game with him. Trammell finished alongside the Portland runners, placing seventh overall with a time just over 26 minutes on an 8-kilometer course. Other impressive performances for the men included Hudson, sophomore Matt Jenks and sophomore Henry Valdez at 30th, 32nd and 35th, respectively.
Sophomore Sarah Camp placed highest for the Waves on the women’s side, breaking the tape at 26th overall, with a time of 19:26 on the five-kilometer course. Other solid performances for the Waves included junior Tarrah Crowley just behind Camp at 28th, along with junior Kyla Maher and freshman Brie Carroll, who both broke the top 40.
Although Trammell was a bit disappointed with the finish, he said that he was proud of the team.
“The place was lower than we were hoping for, but at the same time I’m really happy with everyone’s individual performances,” Trammell said.
Hudson chimed in as well.
“Going into the season we had hoped to place in the third to fifth range,” he said. “I think injury and inexperience caught up to us.”
Trammell added, “We ran the fastest team time in Pepperdine history despite muddy conditions, but it was just such a strong year that we placed lower than expected.”
Trammell said he felt he had the top 10 and perhaps a chance to break the tape first, however a back injury left him doubting himself.
“I decided to make a move for the win with about 1.5 miles to go,” Trammell said. “It didn’t work out, and I finished a couple (of) places lower than I would have if I would have raced a little more conservatively.”
He added, “But I definitely don’t regret making the move.”
Next up for the cross country team is the NCAA Regional at Stanford University next weekend.
11-03-2005
