LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The first weekend of the swim season came to a close on Saturday afternoon with the annual Pacific Collegiate Swim & Dive Conference pentathlon meet at SPLASH! Aquatic Center right across the street from Biola.
 
The Eagles had a chance to compete individually in their choice of different pentathlons. They swimmers could choose either the long or short pentathlon medley or long or short freestyle medley. Both Biola teams placed fourth overall in the team standings. The women were in a field of eight and the men in a field of five.
 
"The team did an incredible job of continuing the success of Friday's relay meet," said Head Coach Ryan Kauth. "It was a huge exclamation point to start the season. The swimmers were energized, excited, and competing with passion"
 
It was a great day that saw Andrew Holmes, Tom Franicevich, Daniel Vale, Jake Allen, Kaylyn Schull and Lisa Tixier all got lifetime best times in their various events. Not only were their personal-bests, but several swimmers also managed to record times that put them among the tops in NCAA Division II.
 
Tixier had times inside of the top-10 nationally in three different events. Her 23.98 in the 50-freestyle is the fourth-best in the nation. Her 52.72 in the 100-freestyle is sixth in the nation and her 200-freestyle of 1:54.94 is seventh-best.
 
Sophomore Emily Silzel also stands out as a swimmer to rank high in the national top times. She is just one spot behind Tixier in the 200-freestyle recording a time of 1:56.54. She is also 15^th in the 100-breaststroke and 16^th in the 100-freestyle.
 
"On the women's side, I believe it was a huge statement to be able to go out and place fourth out of eight," said Kauth. "Every team at the meet is very talented, and I think we showed that we can be in the conversation as a top-tier team in the PCSC Conference."
 
The Eagles had two swimmers place in the top-5 of the short medley pentathlon. Silzel finished fourth and Rachel Stinchcomb barely edged out a swimmer from Fresno Pacific to earn fifth individually.
 
Raymond Kam represented the men with a top-10 finish in the same pentathlon on the men's side. He completed the five events (600 total yards) in 5:57.78.
 
"On the guy's side, although we don't have the depth that the other teams do, I firmly believe that the quality of swimming is there," said Kauth. "We are continuing to grow and get better every single day."
 
Fourth place was popular as Tixier managed to claim that spot among 53 total competitors in the freestyle pentathlon. She completed the 875 yards (yes, there was a 25-yard event) in 8:41. It was a very strong start for last year's NAIA Female Swimmer of the Year.
Biola will continue its season slate Oct. 27-28 up in Northern California at meets hosted by Mills College.
 
"The team knows that the next two weeks will be focused on getting back to the grind and putting in a lot of hard work," said Kauth. "We are still in the early stages of the season, but I think the meet gave everyone a real boost of confidence as we continue to progress through the year."