Ashley Eagan competes at the Ben Brown/Astro AI Invitational on March 13 in Fullerton, Calif. Eagan runs the women’s outdoor 800-meter and 1,500-meter. Photo by Katherine Lytle
The Pepperdine Track team has wasted no time making an impact in the 2026 spring season. Since their opening meet Jan. 30 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston, the Waves have begun rewriting the program’s record books on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Through the first six meets of the season, the team has collectively broken at least 14 long-standing school records, signaling what could become one of the most historic seasons in program history, Head Coach Lauren Floris said.
For sophomore distance runner Elijah Gentry, he said the recent success has become almost expected.
“A lot of these records we’ve come in and just laughed at,” Gentry said. “It feels like the type of records that we should be breaking.”
Infographic by Amanda Monahan
The momentum of the team began building during their cross country season as the program hit multiple milestones, including breaking program records and having top finishers, Floris said. Gentry placed second at the Waves Invitational on Aug. 29 and later broke a program record in the men’s 8k at the Biola Invitational on Sept. 12 with a time of 23:59.9.
As a whole, the men’s team capped the fall season at the 2025 NCAA Division I West Regional Cross Country Championships finishing 17th out of 30 teams. This outcome only fueled the team’s determination moving into the season, Gentry said.
“We beat some of our big rivals that we’ve never beaten before,” Gentry said. “So, the hope is that everybody’s continuing to progress, and we’ll continue to do better than ever before.”
The women’s team faced a different outcome at the same meet, placing 37th out of 39 teams, but the result ultimately became motivation heading into the spring season, senior middle-distance runner Ashley Eagan said.
“Coming out of fall, we honestly had a rough cross country season,” Eagan said. “We did not hit any of the goals we wanted to.”
Rather than slowing them down, the setback ignited the team’s persistence and drive to improve, Eagan said. They entered their 2026 track season in full stride alongside the men’s team.
Five of the 14 program records were shattered in one of their most recent meets March 7 in Santa Barbara. Of these 14 records, Eagan contributed to four of those marks and Gentry to one, according to the team’s Instagram page.
Junior Kaleb McElfish runs the men’s 4000-meter distance medley relay, followed by senior Patrick Thomas on Feb. 28 at the Rossi Relays in Claremont, Calif. Three relay teams from Pepperdine ran the event with Pepperdine’s A team placing first with a time of 9:54.18. Video by Betsy Burrow (‘25)
Team Culture Driving Success
With the achievements gained throughout the school year and entering spring in power, both athletes said they credit the team culture for much of their individual success and the program’s growth as a whole. The team continues to strive to push one another to be the very best every single day.
“The biggest factor for my development has been the team culture,” Gentry said. “I think you can find training anywhere, but to find a group of guys that’s always going to be pushing you and always going to be there for you — that’s what really pushes you to keep going and do all those hard workouts and to make it through the rough days and feel good.”
Eagan said the same sense of support has developed within the women’s team.
“I feel like this season we’re all just closer friends than we ever have been,” Eagan said. “We always want to make each other better, and the environment is just always positive and fun and supportive because you want to get better but you also want to be better for your teammates and for yourself.”
(From left to right) Junior Kayla Renner, junior Elizabeth Crawford, senior Ashley Eagan, junior Renee Skiera, sophomore Grace Simpson, sophomore Kennedy Duralde and junior Emma Martinez pose for a photo March 1 at the MPSF Championships in Reno, Nev. At the meet, the women’s team broke three indoor program records. Photo courtesy of Emma Martinez
Through a growing sense of unity and commitment to one another, Pepperdine’s Track and Cross Country teams continue to build momentum as athletes reset the University’s record books. But as the sport continues to evolve with athletes and times growing faster each year, Floris said the program knows it must keep pushing forward.
“We’re always wanting to get better and not just stay stagnant,” Floris said. “We may not have the most resources like other schools do, but we can work just as hard.”
Looking Toward the Future of the Program
With that bond and shared commitment, Gentry said the team is looking beyond this season and toward the future of Pepperdine’s Track and Cross Country programs, hoping to build a foundation that future runners can continue to grow.
“The hope is that not only will the team that’s currently here be really good and break all those records and rewrite the record books, but that Pepperdine becomes a legacy track team and that the future athletes that are coming in are going to be able to continue that drive and passion, ” Gentry said.
But for Eagan, the future of the program is about more than producing generations of record-breaking runners. The goal, she said, is to build a team of athletes who compete because they love the sport, their teammates and the Pepperdine program itself.
Now, as the Waves progress through their meet schedule, excitement and anticipation are coursing through the team.
Their hunger to compete at the highest level and represent Pepperdine is already evident in their performances this season. Now, it is not a matter of if they will shatter more program records, but when, Floris said.
“We’re not showing up just to run,” Floris said. “We’re showing up to win.”
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Contact Genevieve Cantu via email: genevieve.cantu@pepperdine.edu