LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- No rest for the Biola Track & Field team as just a week after a grueling Golden State Athletic Conference Championship meet the Eagles were right back at it at the 2017 Occidental Invite.
 
Biola mixed it up with a deep field of primarily NCAA Division I and Division II programs in the local meet that ran late into the night on Saturday evening.
 
One of the final events of the night was the women's 5,000m. Despite the late start the Eagles managed to run as good as they have all season long as both Lyndee Dawson and Stephanie Croy put up strong times and finished near the top of the field. Dawson completed her 5,000 meters in 16:53 to finish 19^th. Croy ran a 17:25 and came up in 35^th. It was a 20 second improvement for Dawson over what she ran at last season's Oxy Invite. Both were top times for the season and better than the NAIA's 'A' standard.

Dawson's performance in the 5k was so strong that it puts her with the fifth-best time in the country and was just two seconds back from the Biola school record. Her previous personal-best was set in that race at Oxy one year ago.

"She ran really tough today. The race went out a bit too fast and she had to weather the storm and stay focused despite getting caught by herself in a couple of spots," said Head Coach Sean Henning. "Stephanie also had a great race and ran a personal-best by eight seconds. I am proud of her for pushing her limits."
 
Ryan Thompson finished the same event in 15:12 to place 60^th in the men's race.
 
Gabe Plendcio was the only Eagle in the steeplechase and he performed well with a 9:55 that placed him 38^th overall. Robbie Gleeson, another of the Eagles' standout distance men had a strong performance in the 1,500m. He set a new personal best by four seconds and was not too far back from a national cut with a 3:56.

"Robbie really raced with confidence and had a great last 200 in the race," said Henning. "He's really starting to figure out how to run this race."
 
Sarah Prystupa stood out because she managed to earn the NAIA 'A' standard in pole vault by clearing the 3.60m standard and finishing seventh in the event.
 
Alisa Murray also hit an 'A' standard in the 800m. She and Kathryn Doherty both competed in the finals of the event, with Murray coming in 32^nd with her qualifying time of 2:14. The time helped her move up to 12th in the country.

Hannah Hunsaker was another Eagle that hit a national standard on Saturday. The junior reached the mark in the 1,500m with a 4:38. It was a great effort to get the 'B' standard and finish in the top-25.
 
Check out full results from the meet with the link above.
 
Biola will compete in one more regular season meet next Saturday at Westmont's All On The Line Qualifier meet.