Biola track and field competed in their final Golden State Athletic Conference Championship meet on April 27 and 28 at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Eagles took home several titles as they closed out their time in the GSAC.
Dawson’s third consecutive title
Star senior Lyndee Dawson highlighted day one with her third consecutive title in the 3,000m steeplechase. She ran a time of 11:11.91 to take the crown once again and lead the Eagles’ sweep of the podium in the event. Junior Stephanie Croy ran a time of 11:17.14 to take second and junior Hannah Hunsaker took third with a time of 11:30.61.
Ambernicole Hollinger, Biola’s standout thrower, took the title in discus throw with 37.62 meters. Freshman Sarah Prystupa also impressed in her first championship by taking second place in the pole vault with a jump of 3.35m.
In the men’s action on day one, the 800-meter relay team took a decisive victory by 25 seconds with a time of 8:00.25. The team consisted of freshmen Robbie Gleason and Nic Nelson, junior Jonathan O’Neill and sophomore Aditya Lal. The Eagles also qualified for conference honors in many other events to close out a strong day one.
Hollinger led the Eagles in day two with two more titles. She won the shot put with a throw of 12.69m and the hammer throw with a toss of 46.09m. Freshman Ashley Otah continued her stellar first collegiate season by placing in three different events. In the triple jump she placed second with a jump of 11.34m and finished third in the high jump with 1.50m. She finished a close second in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.78.
Second and third place finishes
Freshman Nathaniel Belden was the only Eagle to participate in the decathlon and performed admirably by taking second in the event, scoring 5,832 points.
Dawson continued her success by taking second in the 1,500m with a time of 4:44.50 to lead the Eagles in distance. Hunsaker took third place with a mark of 4:47.43 to finish an extremely successful meet for the Eagles in their last GSAC championship.
The women finished in second place overall with 236.5 total points behind the champions from Westmont. The men took third place overall with 110.5 points. Westmont also took first on the men’s side.
The Eagles continue action on May 6 at the Occidental Invitational to tune up for their final NAIA championships.
