SPENCER OSWALD/Assistant Photo Editor
SHUHEI MATSUO
Sports Editor
Saturday morning’s cool, overcast weather did not help the Pepperdine cross country teams to finish strong on their home turf, Alumni Park, as it hosted the Pepperdine Invitational. The men Waves finished last in the 10-team, 8K race, while the women’s team came in 11th in its 12-team, 6K race.
Pepperdine invited 14 colleges and 91 high schools to make this event one of the largest cross country meets in the nation.
Collegiate men raced first at 7:30 a.m. and the UCLA Bruins, who scored 39 points, ran away with a team victory, followed by Cal State Fullerton with 55 points.
The Pepperdine men’s team could not take advantage of its home course, but freshman runner Isaiah White, who finished 46th overall with a time of 26:47, said it was the best he has done after breaking his personal record by 19 seconds.
White also said Friday night’s rain made the course more challenging but brought nice and cool weather conditions for his race.
“Coach [Robert Radnoti] told us the more dirt you get on your shoes, the better you run,” he added.
Individually, Erick Garcia, a rookie from Fresno State, stole the spotlight in the men’s race when he won the final-stretch battle against the eventual runner-up, UCLA’s Evan Watchenpino. They finished the race with 24:25 and 24:26, respectively.
Pepperdine freshman Seth Allison led the Waves finishing 40th overall with 26:33, while his fellow rookie Waves, Tom Verdone and Eric Magana, came in 62nd and 65th with 27:25 and 27:36, respectively. Veteran senior Josh Stutzman completed the race in 30:46, which gave him the 81st place.
The women’s race began soon after the men’s race, and the Waves finished the 12-team meet at 11th place. Cal State Los Angeles claimed a team win with 64 points to beat Fullerton by four points.
Pepperdine junior Ashley Burt, who came in 84th with a time of 24:00, said the rain made it easier to run.
“It’s nice that it was cooler and overcast today,” she said. “We’ve been practicing this course all year, so we were really prepared.”
Burt also said she is satisfied with her team’s results.
“We rested a lot of our top girls because they have some big meets coming up,” she said. “So overall as a team, I think we did great.”
Individually, Sarah Cocco, a freshman from University of Southern California, passed Cal State Los Angeles’ Karla Alburer toward the end to claim a victory with 20:00. Alburer came in 18 seconds later.
Pepperdine junior Marissa Kerby led the Waves when she completed the race 83rd with 23:58. Freshmen Mary Stutzman and Molly Coe finished at 89th and 93rd with 24:31 and 24:57, respectively. Senior Lauren Carfioli crossed the finish line at 100th place with 26:30, while sophomores Liz Lyons and Abby Uhrinak came in at 104th and 107th with 26:54 and 27:28, respectively.
Immediately following the collegiate races, the first of 16 high school races took place in a sudden, heavy shower. Fortunately, the skies cleared in the afternoon and made the rest of the event go smoother.
The cross country teams are back in action when they travel to Phoenix, Ariz., to compete in the Arizona State University Invitational, which starts Oct. 6.
09-27-2007
