The Eagles’ track and field teams took a short trip to Pomona, Calif. on April 7 for the Pomona-Pitzer Invite. Biola’s athletes faced steep competition, including that of rivals Azusa Pacific University and Westmont College. The day was full of impressive finishes, as the Eagles have begun to hit the critical point of the season to build towards the PacWest conference championships on April 27-28.
FIELD ATHLETES STRUGGLE
Biola’s field team, especially the female throwers, shows up strong at almost every meet they compete in, but they had a hard time challenging for top-10 finishes in these events. One thrower who still succeeded despite the tough competition proved, unsurprisingly, senior Ambernicole Hollinger. Her mark of 46.30 meters in the hammer throw fell one meter short of her career-best and earned her a fifth place finish.
Freshman Gabriel Igbokwe finished 12th in both the long jump and triple jump. He improved on his distance in long jump from the UCSD California Collegiate Open with a jump of 6.29 meters this time around but could not improve in the triple jump. Sophomore Sarah Prystupa continued her string of consistent finishes in pole vault, clearing 3.55 meters to finish ninth.
DISTANCE RUNNERS SHINE
While the Eagles could not finish in the top 10 in any of the sprint events, their distance runners showed up in almost every event they competed in. Sophomore Gabe Plendcio won his heat of the men’s 1,500 meter run with a new career-best time of 3:56.61 to finish 10th.
The men’s runners continued their strong showing in the 800 meter race, with junior Aditya Lal finishing 9th and sophomore Robbie Gleeson finished 16th with a new career-best time of 1:55.86.
Women’s distance runners shone in this meet too, starting with a stellar showing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Senior Stephanie Croy finished fourth in the race with a time of 11:03.06. Sophomore Amanda Reyes finished in seventh about 20 seconds behind Croy, and senior Hannah Hunsaker rounded out the top 10 with a time of 11:43.19.
They continued to perform well with juniors Emily Ransom and Jessica Cody finishing ninth and 10th in the 5,000 meter, with Cody setting a new personal-best of 18:11.36.
The Eagles will continue their season on April 13 at the Cerritos Invitational in Norwalk, Calif.
