SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- Ryan Richert and Kelsey Gasner each took home individual titles, helping Biola to its highest first-day point totals in recent memory in day one action at the 2010 GSAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Westmont College on Friday.

With seven events scored, Biola's women had jumped into second place with 44 points while the men are tied for fourth with 32. Azusa Pacific is the early leader on the women's side with 71 points while Fresno Pacific leads the men's competition with 65 points.

The Eagles opened the championships with a pair of individual titles. Gasner led a strong Biola contingent in the steeplechase, finishing first overall with a school-record time of 11:03.47. Not too far behind was Nychele Fischetti, who took third in 11:16.66. Both athletes bettered their NAIA qualifying times in the event.

The steeplechase proved to be a strong event for the men as well as Kyle McNulty placed second with a personal-best time of 9:26.75, just about one second behind the event winner.

The other champion on the day was Richert, who wrapped up the day with a surprising first-place finish in the 10,000m run. Richert, who had already recorded an NAIA provisional qualifying time in the event, moved into the automatic qualifying group with a time of 31:47.62. Senior Mike Morin also scored points for the Eagles in the event, dropping over a minute off his personal best to finish seventh with a time of 33:05.71.

The Biola women were equally impressive in the event. Jane Kerner finished fourth in a time of 37:19.57, followed closely by teammate Sarah Brooks, who was fifth in 37:24.09. Both set new personal best in the event and are well under the automatic qualifying time for the NAIA Championships.

Biola's women's team continued to take advantage of its new depth in the mid-distance squad, placing third in the 4x800 meter relay. The quartet of Katie Thede, Clarissa Kenney, Danielle Calhoun and Brooke Forsi combined to run a 9:34.04, good for a third place finish. On the men's side, Mark Weller, Tyler Sharp, Matt Arroues and Ben Jacuk posted a fifth place finish in the event with an overall time of 8:18.78.

In the field events, Biola scored some much needed points in the javelin and pole vault. Ryan Hanson placed fourth in the javelin with a toss of 175 feet, 2 inches to earn five points on the men's side while Kesslyn Martin's throw of 117-4 was good enough for sixth place and three points. In the vault, Allie Zalesky took fourth overall on the women's side with a mark of 9-10 while Alex Calkins placed sixth by clearing 14-11.

Natasha Miller concluded a busy day with a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 17-8. She also participated in three qualifying events for Saturday's finals. She was one of six sprinters/jumpers to qualify for the finals.

In the 400m, Brooke Forsi will join Miller in the finals of the women's race while Gabe Aeschliman will represent the Eagles in the men's race. Forsi qualified with the fifth-fastest time in the prelims with a personal best time of 58.67. Miller will be seeded third in her race while Aeschliman earned the seventh seed in the men's race.

Miller and Aeschliman also qualified in the 200 meter run and are seeded third and fifth overall.

In the hurdles, the Biola women will have two representatives in the field. Miller, who has the second-fastest time in the NAIA this season, was the top seed after qualifying. Connie Andersen wrapped up a long day of competition in the heptathlon by running the sixth-fastest qualifying time in the 400m hurdles to earn a spot in the finals on Saturday. 

The Biola mid-distance squad also placed a number of athletes in the finals. Five women will represent the Eagles in the 1,500m finals on Saturday as Katie Thede, Jane Kerner, Rachel Stump, Fischetti and Gasner earned five of the 12 available spots. Thede and Gasner also earned a trip to the finals in the 800m run as well.

On the men's side, Kirk Carlson shattered his previous time in the 1,500m by nearly four seconds to reach the finals. Mark Weller was the top qualifier in the 800m, racing to a time of 1:57.49 in the prelims.

Saturday's final day kicks off with field events beginning at 10:30 with the running events starting at 1:00 p.m. Live scoring is available courtesy of the Westmont athletic department at http://gsacsports.org/wordpress/?p=3104.