CLAREMONT, Calif. --- It was the absolute last chance for any member of Biola Track & Field to hit a qualifying mark to make it to the 2016 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships as BU competed at the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers meet on Saturday.
 
Seven new qualifications came during the course of competition Saturday, including Elyse Harabedian hitting the mark in high jump that clinched the reigning GSAC heptathlon champion's first trip to nationals!
 
"I was happy with the way our team performed," said Head Coach Sean Henning. "As always they were great competitors and represented Biola well. They are continuing to grow and bond as a team and that is very fun to watch."
 
Harabedian's third-place finish in the high jump (1.65m) clinched her first trip to nationals and set the tone for an exciting day of competition for the Eagles. Four other women hit new national qualifier marks at the Sagehens' annual meet.
 
Anika Gasner was a abig highlight on the day as she hit the 'A' standard in the mile, won the event and broke her own school record with a 4:55. Lyndee Dawson finished fifth in that mile race and also hit the 'A' standard with a time just eight seconds behind Gasner.
 
Michelle Clark moved up a notch as she turned her 'B' qualifier in the 3,000m into an 'A' qualifier with a great run on Saturday. She finished sixth in the event with a 10:24.
 
Coming into the day coach Henning had five student-athletes at a 'B' qualifier. He had one move up to an 'A' qualifier and then had another new 'B' qualifier. This is great news, but it's bittersweet as he can only take three of the five 'B' qualifiers to the national meet.
 
Alisa Murray was the new 'B' qualifier as she finished third in the 1,000m with a 3:01. She was just two seconds behind the second-place finisher, Carmen Mejia of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
 
Also of note on the women's side was a great hammer throw from Ambernicole Hollinger. The sophomore set a new personal-best with her 7^th-place finish at 37.38m.
 
Another school record fell on the men's side as Wes Noyes broke teammate Andrew Daedler's record in the 1,000m. He hit a 'B' standard as he completed the event in 2:31 and finished third overall.
 
Aditya Lal and Timmy Wilson both ran well in the 1,000m as well as they both finished among the top-16 finishers. This helped Biola match Pomona-Pitzer as the only school with three top-20 finishers in that event. It was Lal's first time running the 1,000m and it was a new personal-best for Wilson (2:36)
 
Meanwhile, Daedler was busy running the mile, an event in which he also hit a 'B' qualifying standard. The senior finished eighth in a field of 90 and posted a time of 4:20.
 
Other finishes of note were Jonathan O'Neil's 4:32 in the mile (27^th) and Christian Yaotani's 11.4 in the 100m (26^th).
 
"I'm excited to see how God will bless us throughout the rest of the season," said Henning.
 
The Eagles will compete at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Rossi Relays next Saturday before Henning and a group of student-athletes will head to Tennessee for the NAIA Indoor National Championships.