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 day represents day seven of this countdown and will feature the No. 4 moment of the year.
#4: NCCAA Championships For Days
The fall season was one of resounding success for Biola Athletics programs. The Eagles' teams combined to win four National Christian College Athletic Association National Championships.
That total is one more than BU managed over the entire 2017-18 athletic season. The championships were spread out a few weeks apart, with
Jane Carr's Women's Golf team getting things started in late-October.
Carr returned just about everyone from the 2017-18 squad that placed second to Dallas Baptist. The 17-18 squad shot a 964 to average rounds of 321. This year, the squad dropped its average to 310 and dropped 32 total strokes to come out on top.
It's the first NCCAA National Championship for Biola Women's Golf and it set up the spring run to a PacWest runner-up finish. The Eagles finished 22 strokes ahead of second-place Erskine College and Sami Penor won a playoff hole to take home the individual championship with a three-round total of 229 (+13).
Penor, Tori Roeske, Sophia Karnazes and Alexis Gopfert all earned NCCAA All-American recognition on the merit of their finishes and Jane Carr took home Coach of the Year honors.
Next up came the NCCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 10. Biola Men's Cross Country was seeking a repeat after taking home the title in 2017. The women's side was looking for its first-ever NCCAA Championship after finishing runner-up in 2017.
Gabe Plendcio led the men's team out onto the course first. It was a great, relatively easy run for the Eagles as they went on to repeat by scoring 25 points and putting out a team time of 2:11:37. Second-place Campbellsville racked up 51 points and a team time of 2:13:49.
The top-5 men all finished in the top-8 places, led by Plendcio repeating as the individual national champion. Six of Biola's top-7 finished in NCCAA All-American contention and Sean Henning was named Coach of the Year.
The women ran second and had to adjust back to a 5k race after running a great 6k the week before at the PacWest Championships. The margin of victory (in terms of point total) was just a bit bigger than on the guy's side. The ladies scored 29 points and a team time of 1:37:04 to outpace Trinity Christian (56 points - 1:38:39).
All seven women who ran earned NCCAA All-American recognition with Biola taking almost every spot between third and 11th. Mackenna Mason led the effort with a third-place run and time of 18:55.87.
Finally, Biola Volleyball closed the book on the fall athletic season with an incredible run through the NCCAA postseason. First, Biola was selected to host the NCCAA West Region Championships in early-November.
The Eagles beat New Hope Christian (25-8; 25-20; 25-4) in the opening round and then dismissed Ottawa (Ariz.) (25-17; 25-21; 25-13) in the final to advance to the NCCAA Volleyball National Championship in Point Lookout, Mo.
Biola continued its stretch of perfect volleyball through its first four matches at the NCCAA Final Site, to get through Pool Play and the semifinals without dropping a single set.
Not only did that extend Biola's NCCAA winning streak, but it also extended the team's overall winning streak to 11 heading into the finals. All 11 of those wins during the streak came in three sets.
Biola had to face the tournament host, College of the Ozarks, in the final match. Aaron Seltzer's squad came into the match with a 29-6 overall record and C of O was 33-6. The Eagles would hit .302 and have eight service aces en route to winning the tournament title with a 3-1 scoreline (25-18; 20-25; 25-21; 25-13).
Sierra Bauder and Brinley Beresford were named to the All-Tournament Team, Bauder earned NCCAA Player of the Year and Bauder, Christina DenBoer and Karly Dantuma were named NCCAA All-Americans. Seltzer was, of course, named NCCAA Coach of the Year.
It was a fine fall indeed, with every Biola team that qualified for NCCAA postseason competition going on to win the whole thing.
Honorable Mention: Men's Cross Country Puts On A Show At Santa Clara
Biola Men's Cross Country had a historic day back on October 13 when it set new program records for both individual and team time at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational 8k.
Gabe Plendcio paced the Eagles' effort by being the first Eagle to ever go sub-24:00. He finished sixth overall with a 23:59.1. It was a field of 176 runners, with most coming from NCAA Division I programs.
Plendcio's great mark set the tone for his teammates, who all finished within 10 seconds and 17 places on one another. Brady DeHaven was Biola's second top runner - placing 72nd with a 25:01. Jared Donnel was the last scorer at 88th and 25:11.7.
The efforts of those three, plus Ryan St. Pierre and Angel Escobar, equated to a team time of 2:04:26 and a 10th place finish at the meet. All five scorers set personal-best times with their runs.
The team time was the best mark in the history of Biola's Men's Cross Country program.
"They did a great job of racing hard and fighting all the way even if they were stuck running by themselves," said Head Coach Sean Henning.
Top-10 Moments:
10. Men's Basketball Comes Back At Hawaii Hilo
9. Historic Tennis Victories
8. Swim Team Record-Breaking Efforts
7. Mackenna Mason Sweeps NCCAA Distance Titles
6. Softball Sweeps Way To Finals
5. Thompson's Hat Trick on Senior Day
4. NCCAA Championships For Days
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
Women's Golf Makes A Run At PacWest Title
Volleyball Gets Revenge At Home
Tennis Teams Qualify For PacWest Championships
Men's Cross Country Puts On A Show At Santa Clara
