DAVID NAKAGAMI
Assistant Sports Editor
After returning from the South Florida Open the previous week, the men’s and women’s track team participated in the Northridge Relays this past weekend. Pepperdine had four men and five women and place in the top 10.
“We were excited for the Northridge meet because it was the first kind of big invitational,” Coach Robert Radnoti said. “There was about 20-plus schools. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate very much and it kept alternating. We had three or four periods of rain, and during the 5,000, it even started hailing.”
Despite the unstable weather, many members of the team placed in the top 10. For a coach whose goal is “setting the stage for the next three to four years of growth as we become a track power,” his theme of “continuous improvement” seems to have taken hold.
“The team was really ready for the competition other than for the weather,” Radnoti said. “We had some great performances and of course several more school records, so that was exciting for us.”
Senior Chris Ogle won the steeplechase event in 9:32.80. Joining their teammate, freshmen Conrad Wozniak (15:29.42) and Isaiah White (15:56.78) earned sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run. Fellow freshman David Williams grabbed ninth in the 800-meter event with a time of 1:56.61.
Not to be outdone, the women boasted several impressive finishes as well. Junior Courtney Young took fourth place in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18:08.25. In the 3,000-meter race, junior Brie Carroll (10:41.20) and freshman Paige Knudsen (11:10.11) were sixth and eighth. Freshmen Chelsea Wishard (4:48.93) and Alex Evans (25.55 m) earned eighth in the 1,500-meter run and the discus, respectively.
“The standout performers at Northridge I think were Chelsea Wishard, who broke her own school record and set a personal record in the 1,500,” Radnoti said. “On the guys’ side, it was David Williams. He lowered his own school record in the 800 meters. Both of them are just starting to round into shape where we think they’re going to push their records even further and further down and pull the rest of the team along with them.”
The Waves look to continue making their hard work pay off when they travel to nearby USC to compete in the Trojan Invitational on Saturday.
“Northridge was the perfect meet to set us up for USC because at USC, there’s going to be about 30 to 40 schools and a lot of great competition there,” Radnoti said. “So on Saturday, our team got a taste of what that competition is going to be like. Getting ready for USC, it’s kind of going to be big time. That’s where among the best competition in the nation will be and I think our team will be as ready as we can be.”
03-20-2008
