Biola swim and dive traveled to the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships in Los Angeles for a four-day competition. Both Biola men and women’s teams completed their final championship conference in third place, the men scoring a total of 1,378 points and women with 1,018 points. 

DAY ONE

Freshman Gabe Weber started day one with a tie for first in the 1,000 freestyle finals. Weber swam a 9:29.47 tying with a swimmer from the University of California, Santa Cruz. The men also received third in the 200 medley relay with sophomore Clayton Owens, junior Colin Reeve, senior Raymond Kam and junior Andrew Benson swimming a time of 1:34.68.  

Freshman Kellyn Haynes grabbed two wins, placing fourth in the 1,000 freestyle timing 10:24.50. Haynes also placed third with her 800 freestyle relay team including freshman Kolya Vos, freshman Liza Parahnevich and sophomore Kasidee Pascoe swimming 7:35.70.

WEBER AND HAYNES CONTINUE THEIR STREAK 

Haynes continued the second day of competition with her winning streak. Swimming at 4:58.83, Haynes placed first in the women’s 500 freestyle. The 500 freestyle was also a success for Weber, as he swam 4:38.72 and placed third among the men.  

The Eagles dominated the 200 individual medley, taking second for women, and both second and third for men. Sophomore Katelyn Harper took the second-place title for the women swimming at 2:06.12, while freshman Patrick Waggoner took second for the men with a 1:54.17 time and freshman Tanner Smith with a 1:54.90. The men also took third in the 200 freestyle relay of Benson, Smith, freshman Jonas Huckabay and Reeve with a time of 1:25.32. 

EAGLES BEGIN TO FALL SHORT 

On day three, the men were able to secure only five wins, dropping their overall placing from second to third. In the 100 butterfly, Benson swam a 50.61 placing second and Kam with a time of 51.05 taking third. The men’s 200 freestyle placed Waggoner second with a 1:41.45 time, and the 100 backstroke placed Smith at third with a time of 52.83. In the 400 medley relay, Smith, Kam, Benson and Waggoner took second.  

The women took home three wins, keeping the fourth-rank placement unchanged. Harper took first in the 400 individual medley swimming 4:25.10, and teammate Parahnevich was right behind her, snagging third with a time of 4:27.67. The women also took third in the 200 freestyle as Vos finished at 1:52.84.

THE FINAL LAP

The final day of competition proved successful for both teams, however, it was not enough to bring them to the much anticipated first-place status. Sophomore Clayton Owens followed in the footsteps of his teammate Weber by tying for first place. In the 200 backstroke, Owens swam a 1:53.91, tying with a swimmer from Concordia University Irvine. 

Waggoner added to his list of wins at the conference by placing first in the 200 butterfly timing at 1:52.56. In the 1,650 freestyle, Weber placed second with 15:57.01, falling only 5.23 seconds behind first place. The men’s 400 freestyle relay of freshman Alex Ness, Huckabay, Smith and Waggoner brought their best, placing second with a time of 3:04.05.  

The women placed fourth in three events, bringing them up from fourth to third place in the overall ranking. In the 1,650 freestyle, Haynes swam 17:24.91, and the 200 backstroke was taken by Parahnevich with a time of 2:04.86. The 400 freestyle relay team made of Vos, sophomore Kasidee Pascoe, Parahnevich and Haynes swimming with a time of 3:30.99.

The Eagles have officially finished their 2019-2020 season and will compete March 11 to 14, in the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships in Geneva, Ohio.