SAN ANTONIO, Tex. — Three school records and numerous personal records fell for Biola during the first day of the NAIA National Swimming and Diving Championships at the Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio on Thursday.
Freshmen April Smith and Paul Mendoza continued their assaults on the Biola Swim Record Book each breaking another school mark while the Eagles women set a new standard in the 800 Free Relay.
Both Smith and Mendoza broke records two weeks ago at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference championship meet and added another pair this week at the National Championships. Smith swam a season-best 2:15.59 in the 200 IM at the morning prelims, then came back with an impressive 2:14.26 in the finals which was good enough for 10th place overall.
Mendoza also had a strong morning swim, shaving three seconds off his season-best time in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:47.03. In the evening finals, he then dropped another 4-1/2 seconds to finish with a 4:42.74, breaking the old record by nearly three seconds. He also placed 10th overall in the event.
The women's 800 Free Relay team of Brittany Sharpe, Smith, Erika Johnson and Sarah Warkentin bested the old school record in the event by nearly a second, finishing sixth overall in 8:06.11.
Other strong performances on the day came during the women's 500 freestyle where Johnson and Brittany Sharpe each dropped three second off their personal best times. Sharpe swam a 5:31.34 to place 21st overall while Johnson's 5:27.19 was good enough for 16th place.
Five swimmers picked up season-best times in the 50 free including three on the women's side. Emily Mosbacher, Warkentin and Alison Patt finished within two-hundredths of a second of each other with Mosbacher and Warkentin tying for 19th place at 25.52 and Patt finishing in 22nd at 25.54. Patt's time was nearly a half-second better than her previous best swim of 25.99 at the PCSC meet.
On the men's side, Zach Perkins placed 11th overall in the 50 free, dropping three-tenths of a second off his best time of the season with a 21.58 in the prelims. Brian Shepard also dropped nearly a half-second with a 22.12 during the morning swim which was good enough for 22nd place.
The Eagles continue the competition tomorrow with the 100 of each stroke, the 200 free, the 400 IM and the 200 free and 400 medley relays. Fans can follow the action live through the NAIA website at http://naia.cstv.com/livestats/w-swim/08-champs/index.htm.
