LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Each day for the last week of June and first Week of July we will count down Biola Athletics' top-10 moments/achievements from the 2018-19 athletic season. This Wednesday represents day three of this countdown and will feature the No. 8 moment of the year.

#8: Swim Team Record-Breaking Efforts
Biola Swim & Dive has been carving up the record book the last few seasons, and the 2018-19 year was no exception to that trend. Since 2017 the two teams have combined to break 19 school records (with most of those being broken multiple times recently).

During this past season Head Coach Ryan Kauth's squads set five new men's records and three new women's records with all of those performances coming at either the Pacific Collegiate Swim & Dive Conference Championships or at the Collegiate Winter Invite.

Freshman Nicole Chang set the tone for the season with her effort at December's Winter Invite meet. She put out some outstanding swims to break the Eagles' record in both the 100-backstroke and 200-backstroke.
 

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🚨🚨NEW SCHOOL RECORD🚨🚨 . . . . Nicole Change wraps up the weekend with one more Record-Setting Performance in the 200 Backstroke Final, touching in a 2:05.90! #ALLIN

A post shared by Biola Swim & Dive (@biolaaquatics) on Dec 2, 2018 at 10:45pm PST

Her 2:05.90 in the 200-backstroke broke Amber Kiel's record time of 2:07.63, which had been standing since Spring 2011. The freshman's other record swim of :57.26 edged out Rachel Stinchcomb's old record by over a full second.

Those swims set Chang up for a massive sophomore campaign - the first year the team will be eligible for NCAA Championships. She's about a half-second off a national cut in the 100-back and about two seconds off in the 200-back.

Aside from Chang's efforts at the Winter Invite, the rest of the records came off the board between Feb. 15-16 at the PCSC Championships hosted across the street at SPLASH!

Raymond Kam grabbed hold of the most new records this season - breaking his own records in the 200-breaststroke (2:07.26) and 100-butterfly (:50.55) and finally passing Chad LeJeune for the 100-breaststroke record (:57.29). LeJeune's time of :57.98 came at the 2014 NAIA National Championships. Kam is about two seconds off of a NCAA national cut in the two breaststroke events and less than a second off in butterfly.
 

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Raymond Kam takes down the 100 Breaststroke School Record with a 57.70 in PRELIMS!! #ALLIN #FiredUpForFINALS

A post shared by Biola Swim & Dive (@biolaaquatics) on Feb 15, 2019 at 2:27pm PST

Matthew Roe got his name in the record book for the first time with a stellar swim of the 100-IM at the PCSC meet. He finished in :53.27 to place second in the event and break a record that was actually just set by Kam one year ago.

Aside from that it was two more freshmen making waves for Kauth's team. Jonathan Villa set the 200-butterfly record on the men's side and Katelyn Harper added her name to the record book with a 1,650-freestyle swim. Villa went 1:55.03 to narrowly improve on the record formerly held by Kam (1:55.30). Harper turned in a time of 17:51.29 to better Abby Blake's 2013 record by over a minute.
 

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FRESHMAN Jonathan Villa cruises his way to the Record Books with a 1:55.03 in the 200 Fly, commanding the race from the start! #ALLIN #JustTheBeginning

A post shared by Biola Swim & Dive (@biolaaquatics) on Feb 17, 2019 at 9:48am PST

Looking ahead, Kauth has a recruiting class of 20 talented student-athletes coming in this fall. So keep your eyes peeled for more records to be written in 2019-20.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Thompson Wins PacWest 10k By An Eyelash

Twenty seconds has been the average margin of victory of the men's 10,000m run at the last five PacWest Conference Championships. At the 2019 championship meet, Biola's Ryan Thompson did not have the luxury of those 20 seconds. Not even close.

The senior won Biola's second individual track & field PacWest Championship in a riveting race that saw him edge out Concordia Irvine's Angel Aguirre by just :00.08 seconds. Thompson took the top spot on the podium with a 31:39.02, barely beating Aguirre's 31:39.10.

It was not a season-best for Thompson, who earlier in the season set a new 10k record with a run of 30:44.61. But, it was just enough to get the job done. It was a busy track season for Thompson, who had to run three 10k races and four 5k races after sitting out the 2018 cross country season as a redshirt.

Thompson's conference title was one of eight all-conference honors for Biola at a solid 2019 PacWest Championship Meet.

Check back with us tomorrow for the next of our top-10 moments and another honorable mention. Top-10 Moments:
10. Men's Basketball Comes Back At Hawaii Hilo
9. Historic Tennis Victories
8. Swim Team Record-Breaking Efforts
7. Thursday, June 27
6. Friday, June 28
5. Monday, July 1
4. Tuesday, July 2
3. Wednesday, July 3
2. Thursday, July 4
1. Friday, July 5

Honorable Mentions:
Connor Kostecka's Bat Produces Two Walk-Off Hits
Paige Austin Carves Up APU
Ryan Thompson Wins PacWest 10k By An Eyelash