SEATTLE --- Biola University senior Natasha Miller opened the 2011 Indoor Track and Field season with a strong showing, placing third in the pentathlon at the University of Washington Indoor Invitational on Friday night.

Miller, the two-time defending NAIA National Champion in the event, recorded an impressive early-season score of 3,944 points to finish third in a field of 23 competitors made up mostly of NCAA Division I athletes.

The field included the 2010 NCAA Division I National Champion Brianne Theisen of the University of Oregon, who won with a score of 4,507 points. UC Santa Barbara's Barbara Nwaba took second with 4,140 points.

Miller established a new school record in the competition, tying for first place with Theisen in the high jump. Miller became the first female at Biola to clear six feet in the event, besting her previous PR and school record.

Miller closed out the long day with a pair of solid performances in the final two events which took place late into the night. She placed third in the long jump with a leap of 18-feet, 5.75-inches, and closed out the night by placing second in the 800 with a time of 2:23.07.

The rest of the Biola indoor squad opens the 2011 season on Saturday at the Concordia University season-opener, beginning at 9:00 a.m. in Irvine.