IRVINE, Calif. --- Biola qualified a pair of runners for the 2013 NAIA National Championships in the marathon as Kasey Schalich and Andy Edmondson earned qualifiying marks at the 2013 Kaiser Permanente Southern California Half Marathon on Saturday morning in Irvine.

Edmondson, who was competiting in his first half marathon, finsihed eighth overall among 1,300 runners with a provisional qualifing time of 1:14:05. The automatic time is 1:13 with the provision standard being 1:15.

Schalich qualified to run her second-straight NAIA marathon with a personal best time in the half of 1:25.15. Her previous best was 1:27:40 in the half last season at the San Diego Half Marathon. It was the second-fastest time in school history behind Kristin Schmidt's time of 1:24:43 in 2009. 

Overall, Schalich was 45th in the field of 1,300 runners. She placed 11th in the full marathon at the NAIA Outdoor Championships last spring.

This is the sixth-straight year Biola has qualified at least one athlete for the NAIA National Championship Marathon race. The other recent qualifiers are: 2012 - Collin Christensen, Rachel Stump, Kasey Schalich;  2011 - Brian Aukshunas, Spencer Lyle, Evan Thibodeau, Ryan Richert; 2010 - Mike Morin, Carter Williams; 2009 - Ryan Richert, Kristin Schmidt; 2008 - Jared Bird, Danielle Simpson.

To view complete results, visit: http://racewire.com/live_results.php?id=2826#Half%20Marathon