Junior Chris Stutzman Jr. competes in a freestyle event during the PCSC Conference Championship on Feb 8-11, 2012. Stutzman secured three Biola records in freestyle events at the NAIA national Championships on March 1-3. | Olivia Blinn/THE CHIMES
The Biola swimming and diving teams had a successful run at the NAIA Swimming and Diving National Championships in Oklahoma City. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed in the top 10, with the men taking sixth and the women seizing seventh overall.
The men’s 4×100 relay broke Biola’s record with a time of 3:04.95, taking fourth place in the championships. The relay team included freshman Nick Steadman, senior Nathan Roe freshman Austin Sarna and junior Chris Stutzman.
Stutzman breaks his own freestyle records, Tixier breaks NAIA record
Stutzman had an impressive individual performance at the meet, breaking his own record in the 100-yard freestyle by nearly a full second, coming in at 45.18.
“It’s really exciting [to break this record] and I’m really thankful I got to swim … at this meet,” Stutzman said.
He also broke two other school and personal records in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle.
In addition to the remarkable times churned out by the men at nationals, the women also had spotlight-worthy moments, including freshman Christine Tixier setting a new NAIA record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.60. The former best time was 54.96 set in 2008 by Vicky Sui of Simon Fraser University.
“I did not expect to break [the record],” Tixier said. “Coming in, I was a second off and I wasn’t even thinking about it. … Once I broke it, I was just blown away.”
Other notable moments included the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay reaching a time of 1:40.00, earning them a seventh-place spot, qualifying them for the Saturday evening finals. The team consisted of senior Brittany Rosania, freshman Megan Nerud, senior Amber Kiel and Tixier, whose split fell just below the school record at 24.31.
The diving team also had their share of success. Junior Austyn Lewis received sixth place for the 3-meter board, scoring 216.30 points.
Overall, the team was proud of their accomplishments at nationals and how well they did throughout the season.
“I think our team is really special,” Stutzman said. “I’ve been on other teams where [the attitude] is cold and only about breaking records … but our team is different because we are using these bodies as instruments for [God’s] glory.”
