OKLAHOMA CITY --- Following one of its strongest showings in team history at the PCSC Swimming and Diving Championships, the Biola Swimming and Diving teams arrived in Oklahoma City on Monday for the NAIA National Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by the OCCC Aquatic Center.
On Wednesday, junior Austyn Lewis opened the national competition and capped an impressive season, finishing sixth on the 3-meter board (216.30) and putting the Biola men in a favorable postiion heading into the swimming competition the following day.
On Thursday night, with the start of the swimming competition, Lewis followed suit on the 1-meter board with a 5th place finish, one of two top-8 finishes for the men that evening.
In the swimming competition, Thursday's prelims saw both the men's and women's teams break the current school records in the 200 medley relay. On the women's side, the team of Megan Nerud, Brittney Rosania, Christine Tixier, and Rachael Sirjord became the first Biola team to break the 1:50 barrier in the event, recording a time of 1:49.46. A few heats later, the men finished with a record time of 1:36.38, good enough to place them 6th heading into finals. Both teams would improve again in the top 8 that night, setting the school records even lower.
In the 200 IM prelims, freshman Christine Tixier rewrote another school record in a time of 2:06.33, seeding her 4th in the finals. Later that night, Tixier earned a 4th place overall finish in the finals, recording 15 points for Biola's women's squad. Teammate and fellow freshman Megan Nerud added an additional 11th place finish in the event.
Another highlight from Thursday's prelims came in the men's 50 free, where Chris Stutzman smashed the 21 second barrier and the current school record in the 50 free, recording a time of 20.73 seconds. In the finals heat that night, 10 athletes recorded times under the 21 second mark, making it the fastest showing for the event in years. Stutzman proved up to the challenge with a 7th place finish and a time of 20.80.
But the highlight of Thursday's competition would come in the Men's 4x200 relay finals, where four Biola men destroyed the old school record of 7:03.11 by almost nine seconds, placing them 5th in finals and earning 28 points to bump the men into 6th place. The team of Austin Sarna, Nick Steadman, Nathan Roe, and Chris Stutzman touched the wall in a final time of 6:54.21, breaking the seven-minute mark for the first time in Biola history. All four swimmers recorded 200 splits of 1:44 and faster, making Friday's individual lineup in the 200 free one to watch.
The Biola Men stand in an impressive 6th place after Thursday night, while the women are 8th out of 20 teams. The teams now look forward to Day 2 of the competition, which includes 100s of stroke, the 200 free, and the 4x50 freestyle relay.
