CLAREMONT, Calif. --- Biola Track & Field had the battle the elements a little bit on a rainy day of competition at the 30^th-annual Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Saturday at Strehle Track.
 
The Eagles had a good day at the track as the team recorded times at or above a NAIA 'A' or 'B' standard in five different events and once again recorded a handful of new personal-bests.
 
Once of the most impressive improvements came in Ilima Kung's run of the 3,000m steeplechase. The senior dropped 34 seconds from her previous personal-best and was just two seconds shy of the provisional standard with an 11:29. She finished third in the race.
 
On the men's side Andrew Daedler also set a personal-best. He recorded a 3:52 in the 1,500m, which is a three-second time drop and good enough for a NAIA 'A' standard. The run now has him ranked third in the NAIA.
 
"I am really happy for Andrew," said Head Coach Sean Henning. "He has put in a lot of time and work to get himself into great shape, so it's great to see it all pay off."
 
A couple other guys came very close to hitting their respective provisional standards during Saturday's competition as Brian Marcus ran a :56.82 in the 400m hurdles to finish 2.3 seconds off and Aditya Lal finished the 800m in 1:55, which was just two seconds off the standard.
 
"Aditya ran a very balanced race and won his heat going away," said Henning. "It was a breakthrough race for him."
 
Also notable on the men's side were Jonathan O'Neil and Wes Noyes' runs in the 1,500m. Both men set new personal-bests and finished in the top half of the 129-man field.
 
A lot of Biola's qualifying times came on the women's side. Anika Gasner continued her dominant return with times that exceeded the 'A' standard in the 800m and 1,500m. Her 2:13 in the 800m is the fourth fastest in the country, and her 4:35 in the 1,500m is seventh best.
 
Alisa Murray had a very strong day as she set a personal-best, won her heat and hit a 'B' standard in the 800m. She finished eighth overall with her 2:14 and missed the 'A' qualifying standard by less than two-tenths of a second.
 
"She won her heat and ran a very smart race where she closed really well the last 200 meters," said Henning.
 
The 1,500m was a strong event for Henning's squad as Kaitlin Quaid and Michelle Clark each also set new personal-bests and finished within striking distance of a national qualifying standard and Hannah Hunsaker found a 'B' standard with a 4:42. Biola had four student-athletes place inside of the top-30.
 
"Hannah has continued to impress me with her ability to step up to the challenge of the competition she is facing," said Henning.
 
Lastly, the Eagles had three very solid races in the women's 5,000m. Stephanie Croy led the way with a new personal-best of 17:57. She finished fourth overall and dropped 18 seconds from what she ran earlier this year at indoor nationals. Melissa Ledesma and Stephanie Chaires each moved up from middle distance to the 5k and recorded finishes inside of the top-16. They finished in 18:32 and 18:33, respectively.
 
"All in all, it was a great day for our team," said Henning. "We are excited for one more week of competition before we go to the GSAC meet."
 
 The Eagles will split the squad up and compete at Mt. SAC Relays (hosted by Cerritos College), the Bryan Clay Invitational (hosted by Azusa Pacific) and the Long Beach State Invitational next weekend.