Biola’s swim team headed to a three-day winter collegiate invite hosted by the University of La Verne from Friday through Sunday. The Eagles had an excellent three days led by freshman Nicole Chang, who broke several school records, as well as a great team effort by the men’s squad to win their side of the team competition.
CHANG FLIES OFF THE BLOCKS
On day one of the invite, Biola competed in several events, starting with the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay. The Eagles’ team of junior Emily Silzel, freshman Annie Bristow, freshman Kasidee Pascoe and senior Rebecca Brandt finished in fourth with a time of 1:38.70.
The men then competed in the same event, and the combination of junior Matthew Roe, freshman Clayton Owens, freshman Jonathan Villa and freshman Westin Dawe finished fourth with a notch of 1:30.52.
The Eagles found more success in both editions of the 400-yard medley relay. Chang started the women’s contest off with a bang, swimming a time of 57.67 to break the school record of 58.47 held by now-junior Rachael Stinchcomb for the fastest 100-yard backstroke. Silzel, junior Rachel Stinchcomb and Pascoe brought it home as Biola won the event with a time of 3:55.45.
The men took first in the event as well, with Owens, junior Raymond Kam, Villa and Dawe posting a time of 3:35.73 to earn the top spot.
Kam and Roe each earned a top-three finish in an individual event. Kam took second in the 200-yard individual medley at 1:59.03 while Roe showed off his sprinting chops with a 22.06, third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle.
RECORD RE-BROKEN
Day two of the invite started with some more good relay results, as a squad comprised of Chang, Silzel, Stinchcomb and Pascoe notched a 1:48.09 time to take second in the women’s 200-yard medley. The Eagles also found the podium on the men’s side as Roe, Kam, Villa and Dawe swam into third at 1:39.25.
Chang then broke her own 100-yard backstroke record, this time in the event itself, swimming a time of 57.26 to take first place. Her spectacular performance almost distracted from another freshman phenom, as Katlyn Harper added to the Eagles’ wins with a 4:34.17 time in the women’s 400-yard individual medley.
Kam finally broke through with a win in the 100-yard breastroke, taking first with a 58.49 time. He added a second place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a 52.49 mark. Owens also took home two top-three finishes, with a second place mark in the 100-yard backstroke at 53.92 to go along with taking third in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:45.81.
TWO RECORDS, ONE DUB
Another freshman got in on the action on day three as Faith McAllister took third with a 1:01.81 time in the women’s 100-yard individual medley. But the day still belonged to Chang, who added her name to the record books a second time with a 2:05.90 finish in the women’s 200-yard backstroke finals, taking second in the event.
The other notable finish for the women came in the 200-yard butterfly, where Stinchcomb took second with a 2:07.07 time.
STRONG FINISH
Roe competed in his first 100-yard IM swim, and wowed with a first place finish after a speedy mark of 55.24. Owens took second place in the men’s 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:55.99.
Perhaps the biggest highlight from the men’s side came when Kam won the 200-yard breaststroke by over five seconds with a mark of 2:09.88. As the invite started to wind down, Roe, Owens, Villa and Dawe added another strong finish by coming in second in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:17.64.
It was an extremely successful meet for both teams, as the men took first place honors with 1,388 points over the three-day invite. The women came in fourth with a total of 1,303 points, narrowly edged off the podium by rival Azusa Pacific University.
The Eagles now conclude the fall portion of their season and will have some time off before they host a meet at Lansing Pool against Concordia University Irvine on Jan. 12.
