Men’s and women’s track started off their seasons on the right foot Saturday, as each team beat their counterparts from the University of La Verne in a rare home dual meet.

MAUMALANGA MASHES RECORD

On the women’s side, sophomore Anna Maumalanga picked up where she left off last season with wins in the shot put and discus throw, the latter of which set a new school record at 44.36 meters.

The Eagles took a while to get going before rattling off three straight wins in the mixed-school races. Freshman Sarah Ann Frank started her collegiate career with a winning 9.33-second mark in the 60-meter hurdles, followed by sophomore Heidi Sowers’ 400-meter hurdles win with a 1:08 time. Biola’s ‘A’ squad in the 4×370-meter relay rounded out the trio of Eagles victories with a winning 4:03 time.

The Eagles also took three of four in the women’s jumps, with solo victories from junior Sarah Prystupa in the pole vault, sophomore Hannah Hubbard in the long jump and freshman Rebeka Preston in the triple jump. The last two competitions were moved to La Mirada High School due to a problem with Biola’s field, according to head coach Sean Henning.

“It’s a unique meet because we have an unusual sized track and so times are not always indicative of the fitness they’re in… I think so far, everyone’s competing hard,” Henning said.

FRESHMEN SHOW OUT, BELDEN GOES FOR TWO

Freshman Noah Styffe started off the men’s side with an 11.42-second victory in the 100-meter dash, beating out two from ULV in his first college race. Junior Noah Strenn, who shares a high school alma mater with Styffe, followed that up with a victorious 51.17 time in the 400-meter dash.

“I feel pretty good,” Strenn said. “I think I still gotta work on my last 100 meters of the 400-meter run, but overall it was a pretty good start.”

Senior Ryan Thompson started off his final year in style with a win in the 3000-meter, coming in at 8:42. Junior Nathaniel Belden followed that up with an 8.47-second win in the 60-meter hurdles, and the Eagles made it a sweep in the 4×370-meter relay thanks to the men’s ‘A’ squad with a 3:16 time. Belden finished 1/100th of a second off the program record, Henning said.

Belden also took a victory in the pole vault, and freshman J’Vaughn Singleton made a great first impression by winning the long jump.

The Eagles get two weeks off before hitting the road, starting at the Long Beach State University Beach Opener on March 2.