POMONA, Calif. --- Biola Track & Field jumped back into action on Saturday at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite. It was a busy day for the Eagles, as they had student-athletes competing in events from 9:00 a.m. up until 7:00 p.m.
 
Head Coach Sean Henning was pleased with the performances put out by his men's team this week. He mentioned how they showed great consistency, which made it a successful meet despite no national qualifiers or record-breakers.
 
"That is a good sign of maturity and growth as an athlete, and that is something that we like to see," said Henning. "We still have a lot of work to do on the men's side in order to be as competitive as we would like to be at the conference championship, but I believe in these guys and am very hopeful that we will be there in three weeks."
 
Nathaniel Belden has been working hard all season long to get himself ready for the decathlon. He competed in the 110m hurdles, high jump and discus. It was his first time competing in the discus, and he performed well with a toss over 28 meters.
 
Distance runners had some strong performances again as Robbie Gleeson shone in the 800m (1:58.25) and 1,500m (4:03.19). Adidtya Lal also had another solid day in the 800m as he finished in the top-third of the field with a 1:57.77.
 
Miles Brubacher and Brandon Berz were two others who made an impression on Saturday with personal-best times. Brubacher ran his best collegiate 5,000m race and placed 11^th with a 15:36. Berz dropped another 10 seconds off his personal-best in the 3,000m steeplechase. He placed finished seventh overall with a 9:42.73.
 
On the women's side the focus continued to be on expanding the depth and breadth of scoring options for the Eagles. Biola knows it will have to battle with Westmont again in a few weeks in a tight race for the Golden State Athletic Conference title and will need as many scorers as it can get.
 
That is what makes the performances of Stephanie Croy, Ashley Otah and Taylor Venegas so important this week.
 
Venegas is in her third month as a track & field student-athlete after a successful four-year soccer career at Biola. She competed well in the 100m and 200m dash on Saturday and Henning is confident she will make an impact at GSAC. She ran the 100m in 13.06 and the 200m in 27.64. Both scores would've earned points at the GSAC meet a year ago, with the 100m time good enough for third place.
 
Ashley Otah now has the 21^st best time in the country for a 100m hurdles competitor. She is highlighting a much improved sprints program for the Eagles this year. She finished seventh on the day in the event with a 14.85 and improved her national qualifying time.
 
Stephanie Croy ran her best 5,000m even of the year and reached the NAIA 'B' standard with her 17:38.80. She's now got the 15^th-best time in the NAIA.
 
In addition to all of that, Biola's senior leaders continue to put together solid seasons. Lyndee Dawson set a new personal-best of four seconds in the 1,500m with a 4:30.59. Right now she's got the third-best time in the nation in that event. Alisa Murray hit a 'B' standard in her first 800m race of the season. She finished third in the event and is sixth in the NAIA with her 2:14.71.
 
It was a busy day, but a great day for this Biola team. The road gets no less busy next weekend as the Eagles compete at four different events spanning between Thursday – Saturday. It is Biola's final warm up before the Golden State Athletic Conference Championships April 27-28.