LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola posted several clutch new national qualifying times and set the stage for the upcoming national championships with a solid showing at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming and Diving Championships at the Splash Aquatic Center in La Mirada.

The men's team placed six of nine teams at the conference meet with 363 points while the women finished 11th overall with 313 at the four-day competition.

Things began to look promising for the Eagles during day one of the competition, as both the men's and women's 800 free relay teams posted season best times. The men's team of Nick Steadman, Austin Sarna, Nathan Roe, and Chris Stutzman finished with a time of 7:07.78, only four seconds off the current school record and fast enough to seed them in the finals heat at the upcoming national competition.

Likewise, the women's team of Megan Nerud, Rachael Sirjord, Monica Hurt, and Christine Tixier placed 10th at PCSC with a time of 8:10.52, seeding themselves seventh at nationals in the current standings.

On day two, sophomore Bretton Smith secured his first automatic qualifying time of the year in the 50 freestyle, falling under the "A" cut time by four one-hundredths of a second with a time of 22.05.

In the 200 IM, freshman Austin Sarna became the first Biola swimmer in over two years to break the two minute barrier in the event with a time of 1:58.77.

Biola's distance swimmers couldn't have had a better showing on Thursday with almost every swimmer setting a season best or personal best time, including six that fell below the NAIA provisional standard time. The Eagles' sole top eight finish on Thursday night came in the men's 200 freestyle relay, which included Nick Steadman, Nathan Roe, Austin Sarna, and Chris Stutzman.

Day three of the event was ushered in by a school-record breaking swim in the 100 fly (57.24) by freshman Christine Tixier. Finishing 5th in the finals that night, Tixier's time places her 1st heading into the NAIA Championships. Tixier quickly followed up with another impressive 8th place finish in the 100 breaststroke, recording a 1:09.69.

The 200 freestyle event has proven to be a huge rivalry with the Biola men this year, with five team members breaking the 1:50 mark this season. On Friday night, junior Chris Stutzman and senior Nathan Roe both posted times of 1:46.30 and 1:46.37 respectively, pushing each other to new season-bests and automatic qualifying times. 

Saturday's competition yielded perhaps the greatest victories for Biola's men's and women's teams, as senior Alison Seek and sophomore Amber Smith posted national qualifying times. Between the morning and afternoon sessions, Seek kept pace to post her first national time of the season in the 1650 free, beating the “A” standard time by six seconds with a time of 18:58.86. Teammate Daniel Mendoza followed suit in the next heat, easily beating the cut with a 17:11.01.

That night, in the 400 freestyle relay, the Biola men finished fifth, out-touching UC Santa Cruz, Chapman, and Vanguard University in the finals heat to secure a sixth place finish in the meet.

On the women's side, the team of Amber Smith, Bailey Johnson, Megan Nerud, and Christine Tixier posted a time of 3:46.31, good enough for 10th place. Amber Smith's got the Eagles off to a strong start, posting a time of 56.85, four one-hundredths of a second under the national cut, her first “A” standard of the season.

Biola now prepares for the 2012 NAIA Championships, hosted by Oklahoma Baptist University at Oklahoma City Community College's Aquatic Center. The three-day competition will commence on March 1st.

Story courtesy of Zach Perkins.