LONG BEACH, Calif. --- Biola Track & Field season really got its start this past weekend as the Eagles competed in their first meet with a field larger than two teams. Biola went over to Jack Rose Track at Long Beach State University to compete in the Beach Opener for the first time.

Competition ran from Friday to Saturday with a few throws events on Friday afternoon and the full slate of competition on Saturday. The women's team managed 15 points to finish sixth overall while the men got plenty of solid individual performances spread across the wet weekend.

"Weather was absolutely terrible all day but I thought our athletes didn't really good job of competing despite the circumstances," said Head Coach Sean Henning. "Today was one of those days where are you don't really worry about times or marks and focus on competing more."

Aaron Jackson had the highest individual finish on the day, taking second in the men's triple jump. Paige LaBare, Rebeka Preston and J'Vaughn Singleton also managed top-3 marks throughout Saturday's competition.

Jackson, a sophomore, did not compete in any meets during his first season but got year two started with a bang. He recorded a mark of 14.03m to have the top NCAA Division II number in the field and finish just .09m behind the winner from UC Santa Barbara.

LaBare, entering her junior season continuing stellar Biola career as its primary female sprinter, earned a pair of third-place finishes. She went third in the 100m with a time of :12.42 and then finished third also in the 200m with a :25.65.

"Paige LaBare had a good 100 and 200, opening up faster than she did last year which is promising," said Hening. 

LaBare was also a part of Biola's 4x100m relay. The women's contingent of LaBare, Sarah Rossiter, Heidi Sowers and Carissa Kalpakjian went :49.45 to finish third in the even behind Long Beach State and UC San Diego.

Preston, a freshman, held the torch for Biola in the 400m. She was the highest NCAA finisher in the event, placing third with a time of 1:01.83. She was less than a second out of first place, finishing behind two local JC competitors.

Newcomer J'Vaughn Singleton went 6.80m in the long jump to earn the men's highest finish of the day in third place. It's farther than any mark from Biola in quite some time and is just .40m off the school record. His best mark from earlier this season was 6.54m.

"J'Vaughn had a solid day in the long jump, but couple of centimeters away from a lifetime personal best. I'm excited to see him continue to progress," said Henning.

The Eagles also got top-5 finishes from Emily Ransom, Clara Haynes, Hannah Hubbard and Mandy Reyes while Anna Maumalanga led the way for the throwers with a top mark of 40.33m in discus to finish seventh.

Hubbard's fifth-place mark of 11.13m in the triple jump was a new career-best.

Nathaniel Belden finished a career-best :15.21 in the 110m hurdles to earn a top-10 finish (10th). He, Jackson, Singleton, Nic Nelson and Ryan Thompson each had at least one top-10 on the day.

"Nathaniel Belden had two personal bests today. Nathanael is so great at going out in competing," said Henning. "No complaints or excuses for why he can't do well. He ran a personal best in the 110 hurdles and jumped a personal best in the long jump."

"I thought out coaching staff did a good job of dealing with the weather and keeping the athletes focused and driven to complete," said Henning. "They also did great in helping with all the logistical things that need to happen when you travel with the team over 60 athletes."

Biola continues its season next week with competition at the Ben Brown Invitational (hosted by CSU Fullerton) and the Oxy Distance Carnival Spring Break Classic (hosted by Occidental).