WILLIAM ADAMS
Staff Writer
It was no walk in the park when the Pepperdine Cross Country teams traveled to Portland, Ore., this weekend to participate in the West Coast Preview. The women performed exceptionally, taking third place with a respectable 89 points, and the men did superbly as well, finishing in fourth with 91 points.
The teams had to cope with the difficulty of transitioning from one surface to another, but performed as though there were no issues at all.
The teams were forced to run from grass to concrete to dirt and back to grass multiple times — a simple problem that effects runners in a complex way. Junior runner Brieanna Carroll led the charge for the Waves in the women’s race. She finished the six-kilometer course in just 22:38, taking the 12th overall spot. Finishing second for the Waves was freshman Chelsea Wishard with a time of 23:14.
Freshman Lilly Spratt finished third for the Waves with a time of 23:30. Juniors Courtney Young and Amanda Gordon rounded out the top five for the ladies, with times of 23:38 and 23:53, respectively.
Overall, the team gained a lot of respect with the five great times propelling them to an outstanding finish and making their presence felt in the front of the field of 81 runners.
“It’s probably the best finish of a Pepperdine team that I’ve been on,“ said junior Brieanna Carroll. “It’s going to be a pretty amazing season, I think, judging from how we’re doing now. We’re aiming for that top spot.”
Senior Chris Ogle tallied the best finish for the men in the eight-kilometer race. His time of 25:51 was good enough to claim the 12th overall in the field of 90.
Freshman Conrad Wozniak claimed the second best time for the Waves, finishing in 26:04. Sophomore Garrett Reim, freshman David Williams, and freshman Seth Allison, who finished with times of 26:30, 26:40, and 26:45, respectively, completed the top five. The team earned substantial respect for their performances and the future looks very bright for the team.
“I think overall the team showed improvement… The biggest point to recognize is that the freshman seemed to be coming along really well and transitioning into college racing. It’s a pretty big deal.” He feels that the team is poised and prepared for the rest of the season. “I think our coaches have worked hard to make sure we have a plan for the season in terms of training. We’ve been exhausting our bodies and I think by the end of the year we will be faster. [The training] will really pay off and we will hopefully perform well later in the season.”
The team will continue their season Saturday when the Waves host the Pepperdine Invitational, 7:30 a.m. at Alumni Park.
09-20-2007
