Pepperdine Track has broken a total of six school records so far this season. In fact, it’s no longer the question of if they will break one, it’s now a question of how many will they break, graduate sprinter Brendan Fong said.
Fong has broken four of the records, and in the women’s indoor track season, senior distance runner Elle Shrader broke one record, and freshman distance runner Hannah Miller broke another. The most recent record was Fong’s 400-meter sprint at the UCLA Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational on March 24.
“There’s a lot of commitment and determination this year,” Fong said. “They want to be better, and I think a lot of the records are gonna fall in the next few years — if not the next few meets.”
Fong’s Four Records
Fong is a graduate transfer from UC Santa Barbara and has made an impact on the team in his first year at Pepperdine.
Fong has broken both the 200-meter sprint at 21.49 seconds and the 100-meter sprint at 10.99 seconds at the Occidental Distance Carnival March on March 10, according to the Pepperdine Track website. Fong then broke the 400-meter sprint twice at 48.10 at the Sunshine Open on February 10, and at 47.66 seconds at UCLA.
Only the 200-meter was a personal record for Fong, and he said it is likely he can break them again by the end of the season.
“The 200-meter was a really big surprise, and going into it, I told my coach I didn’t feel that great,” Fong said. “But, I had some great competition with me and had some of my Santa Barbara teammates running with me as well to add some extra fire to it.”
Fong said he is grateful for his coaches including Sprint Coach Dean Colarossi and Strength Coach Jackie Keenan, who have helped him grow this season.
Women’s Indoor Track Records
For indoor women’s track, Shrader and Miller have broken the remaining two school records.
Despite never running indoor track or the 1,000-meter race before, Miller broke the school record at a time of 3:19:17 minutes at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open on Jan. 20, according to the Pepperdine Track website.
“I’m definitely excited to run indoor again next season and hopefully run even faster,” Miller said.
To prepare for races like this one, Miller said she trusts her coaches and her training to get her past the finish line.
“I get pretty nervous for races, but I try to remind myself that I run every day, and it’s nothing different except for running a little faster,” Miller said.
Shrader, a captain for the women’s track team, broke a previous record on the indoor 3,000-meter time by over 30 seconds for a time of 10:18.32 at the MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 26, according to the Pepperdine Track website.
“We were expecting it, to be honest, because she’s in really good shape,” Assistant Coach Victor Pataky said. “It was, ‘How many records can she get today?’”
In the previous race, Shrader missed the mile record by six-tenths of a second, making the second-fastest Pepperdine time. She ended up breaking the record in the next race to become a record holder, according to the Pepperdine Track website.
Miller said she looks up to Shrader as she continues to prove her work ethic on the track.
“I’ve never seen someone have such a drive,” Miller said. “She’s very inspiring.”
At the Occidental meet March 10, Shrader also landed another record with a 17:48.26 5,000-meter run for the fifth-fastest time in school history, according to the Pepperdine Track website.
WCC Athletes of the Week
In addition to the records, the WCC has also been showcasing Pepperdine track athletes as the Waves have three WCC runners of the week so far this season, according to the Pepperdine Track Instagram page. Senior Marcus Flint has been selected twice, and freshman Lizzy Crawford has been selected once.
“We’re definitely ramping up workouts to get ready for it but also working on recovery and staying injury free,” Miller said.
Pataky said he has seen exponential growth in the athletes, even though the team cannot run on their own track.
“Team culture has come a long way,” Pataky said. “It’s kind of like a snowball effect, where it starts getting good, and then it exponentially gets better.”
Breaking Records with a Broken Track
The Pepperdine track on campus below the Seaside Residence has not been updated in years and is now unsafe for track athletes to regularly practice on. There are holes and uneven terrain that make it difficult to run on and stay injury free, Fong said.
“It’s definitely different; our track is not great and is hard to run on,” Fong said. “They [coaches] don’t want us running in spikes there, which is our main way of running.”
Instead, the team drives to Malibu every morning for 6:30 a.m. workouts Fong said.
“I give all the props to the coaches, teammates and the team, who make it work everyday,” Fong said. “Seeing them want to get better every day despite the conditions of our track makes me want to get better every day.”
Rather than using the conditions as an excuse, Pataky said it is a chip on their shoulder especially as they prepare for upcoming meets against top opponents. The team is ambitious and is setting high standards for the remainder of the season.
“It’s more of an expectation rather than a shooting-for -the-stars goal,” Pataky said. “We try not to overcomplicate running.”
The next meet the Waves will compete in is the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 11-13.
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Email Megan Harkey: megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
