Seven new national championship qualifiers and two broken school records. By all measurements, that is a successful outing, and it is exactly how the day went for Biola’s men and women track and field teams at the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers meet in Claremont on Feb. 20. This was the last opportunity for any new qualifications for the NAIA Indoor Championships occurring in Tennessee on March 3-5.
Breaking Records
The first record broken came courtesy of senior Anika Gasner, who improved her own school record in the mile, clocking an impressive 4:55, good enough for first place in the event. Sophomore Lyndee Dawson was the next closest Eagle to Gasner, finishing fifth overall with a time of 5:03. Both Gasner and Dawson’s times were good enough for an ‘A’ qualification for the national championships.
The other record was broken on the men’s side, with sophomore Wes Noyes surpassing the record set by senior Andrew Daedler in the 1,000m run. Noyes finished the race in 2:31, which earned him a podium finish in third place. Daedler did not race in the 1,000m, instead getting a ‘B’ qualifier in the mile, finishing in 4:20. Noyes was joined in the 1,000m by freshman Aditya Lal and sophomore Timmy Wilson, all of whom finished in the top 16 as well as earning ‘B’ qualifiers. Wilson, in addition to coming in 16th place, set a new personal best at 2:36.
Other Qualifiers
There were a few other qualifiers that day, including senior Elyse Harabedian, who finished third in the women’s high jump with a final height of 1.65m, good enough to get her a qualification for nationals. Senior Michelle Clark had already qualified for nationals before this meet, but improved on her time, moving up to an ‘A’ qualifier in the 3,000m run. Clark finished sixth in the event with a time of 10:24.
The last new qualifier for nationals was senior Alisa Murray, who earned herself a ‘B’ qualification in the 1,000m, finishing third with a time of 3:01. Despite not earning a national qualification, sophomore Ambernicole Hollinger had a great performance in the hammer throw, finishing seventh in the event and improving her personal best to 37.38m.
The abundance of national qualifiers is both a blessing and a curse, as Head Coach Sean Henning ended the day with five total ‘B’ qualifiers, of whom he is only allowed to take three to Tennessee. The remaining two will still have the honor of qualifying, but will unfortunately not be able to compete in this year’s indoor championships.
Last Meet
Though the qualifications for nationals are over, the Eagles track and field team still has one more meet before they head to nationals. Biola will head back to Claremont for the Rossi Relays on Sat., Feb. 27.
