MONTEREY PARK, Calif. --- It could not be drawn up much better than this. Headed into the final relay of the Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference championship, the Biola women trailed rival Azusa Pacific by one point in the standings. The Eagles needed to finish at least one spot in front of APU in that final relay to move into podium position.

The team of Kolya Vos, Kasidee Pascoe, Liza Parahnevich and Kellynn Hayes went 3:30.99 to touch the wall a little more than two seconds faster than the Cougars' 'A' team. The win clinched Biola 10 Cornerstone Cup points and was the first time ever that Biola finished higher than Azusa Pacific at the PCSC Championships.

"We had to be at our best, at our absolute best in order to go out and beat Azusa. They have such a good team," said Kauth. "We put together four women who we really believe in and before you knew it we had it. I can't think of a more exciting time for women's swimming & diving here at Biola than at that moment. We got to celebrate with alumni who were there and future Eagles who were there in the stands watching."

Not lost in all the emotion was the men's team of Alex Ness, Jonas Huckabay, Tanner Smith and Patrick Waggoner finished second in the 400-freestyle relay and set a new school record. They beat a five-year-old school mark by going 3:05.04 and locked in a third-place team finish.

"We knew third place was in reach and we were focused on bringing home some hardware," said Head Coach Ryan Kauth. "This was our time to make a statement for the future. We've never seen a 400-free relay go that fast in the history of Biola. To watch it first-hand was unlike anything I've ever seen."

Huckabay led the effort with a split of :45.27. The Eagles finished three-tenths of a second faster than their rivals Concordia Irvine.

The women accumulated 1,018 total points to end up third among 14 teams. APU was just behind them at 1,017. CSU East Bay won the event with 1,354.5 points. Pepperdine was second with 1,311.5.

The men's team gathered 1,378 points to place third behind UC Santa Cruz (1,413.5) and Concordia Irvine (1,409). Things are certainly close enough that you better believe this team will have its sights set on a conference title next year.

"We're ready for next year already," said Kauth. "We're locked and loaded. We're reloaded with some top recruits and we are ready to put ourselves in a position to win. I could not be more proud of this team. We're up for the challenge of making people notice us."

The day's finals began with the mile. Kellynn Hayes and Gabe Weber continued their special performances by setting new school records in their respective events. Hayes went 17:24.91 to finish fourth and tack on 26 points for BU. Audrey Vermeulen placed eighth with a 17:42.52, also scoring 20+ points.

"Kellynn Hayes was a complete iron woman for us," said Kauth. "She's calm, cool, collected and ready to go whenever she hits the water. She is the best racer on this team and maybe the best racer I've ever coached in my entire life."

Weber had his two fastest splits of his whole race during his final 100 yards and finished second on the merit of his 15:57.01.

"Gabe has been in the conversation for being one of the best distance swimmers in the conference, and I think nothing has changed," said Kauth. "He is someone who will give you a tough race every time. He's patient, persistent and annoying to his opponents, which when you're a distance swimmer there's nothing better you can be."

Next up came the 200-backstroke, which was a perfect chance for Biola to make up some ground on Azusa Pacific and the others. Coach Kauth mentioned that he and the swimmers often refer to the BU of Biola University actually meaning "backstroke university," since the team's been so proficient in the stroke. 

The women had three swimmers in the 'A' final, with the three performances combining for 71 points. Liza Parahnevich led the effort, finishing fourth and setting a new school record with a 2:04.86.

"Liza settled into the meet and found herself just off the podium in the backstroke as a freshman," said Kauth. "There's not much more you could ask out of a freshman than what Liza's been able to do this year. She's been our rock and someone we can rely on day in and day out."

Nicole Chang (7th - 2:07.47) and Bethany Harper (8th - 2:08.84) rounded out the Eagles' scorers in the 'A' championship. Harper brought in 22 points in her final individual race as an Eagle.

On the men's side Clayton Owens worked his way to a 200-backstroke conference championship. The sophomore went 1:53.94 for a new season-best. He tied with a swimmer from Concordia Irvine, giving Biola a pair of PCSC Co-champions in this year's meet.

Alex Ness earned an individual top-5 finish in the 100-freestyle, finishing as the top male or female swimmer in that stroke. He went :46.30 and Jonas Huckabay came in just behind him in eighth place with a :46.73.

Coach Kauth called out Kyle De Villiers as a swimmer who particularly impressed him in the 100-freestyle. The freshman from South Africa went :48.46 to finish 17th and bring home nine points for BU.

"He broke :50 this morning for the first time and then ended up breaking :49 at night," said Kauth. "He's someone who's swam long course his whole career and is just learning how to do flip turns. He is going to be a force going forward."

Variety was key for the women's side in the 200-breaststroke finals. The Eagles had one swimmer in both the 'A', 'B' and 'C' finals and each swimmer brought home points for BU. Meredyth Rubie went 2:36.73 to finish 20th. Celine Dong swam a 2:34.02 to place 15th and Anna Haaksma led the way in the top final with a 2:26.84 to finish 8th.

On the men's side, Colin Reeve (4th - 2:08.27), Raymond Kam (6th - 2:10.03) and James Gamette (8th - 2:10.46) all finished in the top-8. 

"Our guys in the 200-breaststroke knew they had to go out fast and they did," said Kauth. "They gave it everything they had and I am thankful to them for that."

The final individual event of the whole championship was the 200-butterfly. This is a spot where Biola was ready to score big points and look for wins. The women's side saw Katelyn Harper as the lead swimmer card a 2:10.50 in the final to finish 8th and pace the effort.

Just as significant, though, was Faith McAllister out-touching Concordia's Mikayla Jean to finish 12th instead of 13th. McAllister went 2:11.69 to finish just .2 faster than Jean and earn 15 points instead of 14. As noted on the scoreboard report above, that one point would prove quite significant.

On the men's side it was Patrick Waggoner once again impressing. The freshman turned heads by ending up on top of the podium with a 1:52.56. He was the only male swimmer to hit a 1:52.

"Waggoner had the most incredible last underwater wall that I've seen since being at Biola," said Kauth. "For him to be at the top of the podium in the 200-butterfly was such an accomplishment."

But it was not only Waggoner in that event, Nathan Schwantes finished fifth (1:57.26), Dylan Pon sixth (1:57.27) and Andrew Holmes 12th (2;03.53) as the team worked hard to keep up with the top two teams.

"We look to really own the 200-butterfly over the next couple of years," said Kauth. "A lot of our men coming in are 200-butterflyers. The guys we have are 200-butterfly. Having three guys in the final tonight was fantastic."

The 2019-20 season comes to a close now for most. It was a season that held promise, then saw promise fulfilled and now looks ahead to an even more promising future under the careful leadership of Kauth and his staff.

"This year's team has impacted this program and this department so much that we're in a position where we will never ever want to forget who was on this team and who transformed it," said Kauth. "Biola Swim & Dive is on the map now. We have NCAA Qualifiers, we have men and women's teams ranked top-30 in the nation. We are ready for anything and anybody."

Kolya Vos (100-freestyle) and Gabe Weber (1,650-freestyle) both earned NCAA cuts Saturday evening. The NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships take place March 11-14 at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

"We always say how we want to surrender the path we're on to the Lord and what He has for us," said Kauth. "He's seen us through a lot and man, we're unworthy of the blessings he's given us and we're so thankful for everything he's done and we're excited for the future."