MONTEREY PARK, Calif. --- Biola's swimmers did exactly what they needed to during prelims swims to set themselves up for some big successes in the finals on Thursday during day two of the Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference Championships.

The team had 11 swimmers get great swims in the morning to qualify for 'A' finals on Thursday evening. Then, they also had nine make 'B' finals, which opens up the possibility to score points for BU.

"Prelims is where the meet is won or lost," said Head Coach Ryan Kauth. "This morning we did a really good job of putting ourselves in a position to be successful in the evening."

Just like she did on day one, Kellynn Hayes stole the show on day two at the conference championships. After seeding fifth in prelims, Hayes went out and electrified her teammates on Thursday night by breaking a school record and winning the conference title in the 500-freestyle.

Hayes beat her own school record by almost five full seconds with a time of 4:58.83 to touch the wall first. Her first split and final split were her fastest of the race, coming in at :57.89 and :58.75.

She had back-to-back swimmers for CSU East Bay finish about a quarter-second behind her. 

"Kellynn Hayes started us off with the biggest bang she could have. She has been absolutely incredible since the second she hit the water yesterday," said Kauth. "I told the team the 500-freestyle would be the most competitive event in the conference on the women's side. Kellynn told me after the race that she remembered me saying that. Now, we're sitting with a freshman who's a conference champion in that exact event. It shows what the culture is becoming here."

Gabe Weber also shone brightly on night two, finding himself on the podium for the men's 500-freestyle also. Weber went 4:38.72 to finish third behind a pair of sub-4:33 guys.

This was another race that illustrated the depth of this men's side, with Weber, Alex Ness, Dylan Pon, Westin Dawe and Andrew Holmes all putting up good numbers.

Another record fell in the 200-IM as Patrick Waggoner continued what's been a big meet for him. He broke the school record in his morning swim, going 1:54.06 to finish prelims as the No. 2 swimmer.

He held that no. 2 spot in finals, finishing second by a narrow margin to Denisz Der (1:54.01) of Fresno Pacific. Waggoner was followed by a big group of guys who scored major points for BU.

Tanner Smith joined Waggoner on the podium with a third place mark of 1:54.90. Colin Reeve was fifth, Clayton Owens seventh, Nathan Schwantes 12th and Patrick Lambert 20th as the six men combined for 123 points in the event.

"Both teams did a great job of putting themselves in a position to score," said Kauth. "On the men's side, for example, the guys had four men make the 'A' final in a group of eight. It was dominant. We are a team that believes in ourselves and we are not afraid to rise to the occasion against any team we go up against."

Katelyn Harper was the standout on the women's side, bringing home a second-place finish in the 200-IM. She beat her season-best by about five seconds to wind up on the podium with a 2:06.12

She and Liza Parahnevich both finished inside of the top-4, making it a very successful event for the women's team's place on the scoreboard.

"Katelyn Harper has been absolutely driven and dedicated to being the best she can possibly be in the water," said Kauth. "To get second place and a podium finish in what was a five-and-a-half second time drop was absolutely lights out."

Parahnevich went 2:06.30 in finals to finish fourth, also setting a season-best. 

Kolya Vos (:24.39) and Andrew Benson (:21.51) paced the effort in the 50-freestyle, which was as competitive as ever on both sides.

"Andrew Benson absolutely put up in the morning to do what he needed to do to get into the 'A' final at night," said Kauth. "That is such a difficult 'A' final to get into. He's another one that wanted a little more in finals, but I am excited about what those guys were able to do."

Benson finished seventh overall to score 23 points in the event for BU. His top time came in prelims where he also finished seventh with a :21.27.

The nigh concluded with some more 50-freestyle swims as the teams participated in the 200-freestyle relay. Kauth mentioned how this event is typically a more challenging one for BU where it hopes for a fifth, sixth or seventh-place finish.

Not this year, though. BOTH teams ended up on the podium with third-place efforts, aided along by some disqualifications along the way.

Vos, Meredyth Rubie, Kasidee Pascoe and Parahnevich finished third with their time of 1:37.48. On the men's side, Benson popped up again to lead the group also including Tanner Smith, Jonas Huckabay and Colin Reeve to a 1:25.32 and third-place mark.

"To get top-3 in both men and women's 200-freestyle relays really shows how much we are growing as a team in that area," said Kauth. "We're in a good spot right now on the scoreboard. We're at a good spot to do some big things in the days moving forward. There's a lot more to come."

The meet continues at 9:30 a.m. on Friday at East LA College. See the full meet schedule below. Biola currently sits a close second on the men's side and fourth on the women's side. 

Friday, Feb. 14
Prelims
9:30 a.m.     100 Butterfly
                    400 IM
                    200 Freestyle
                    100 Breaststroke
                    100 Backstroke
                    400 Medley Relay
12:30 p.m.   Diving Prelims: Women's & Men's 3-meter

Finals
3 p.m.         Diving Finals & Awards: Women's & Men's 3-meter
5 p.m.         100 Butterfly Finals
                   400 IM Finals
                   200 Freestyle Finals
                   100 Breaststroke Finals
                   100 Backstroke Finals
7:07 p.m.    400 Medley Relay Finals