ALLENDALE, Mich. --- Day one of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships featured a pair of Eagles making their debut on the national stage. Rebeka Preston and Emily Alvarez competed for Biola and impressed in their events on Thursday.

Four heptathlon events started the day for Biola, as Preston took on the tough competition. "Rebeka had a good first day and she competed really well in her first experience at an NCAA National Championship," commented head coach Sean Henning.

Preston posted back-to-back tenth-place finishes in the 100 meter hurdles and the high jump, which were the opening two events of the heptathlon. A 14.94 time in the hurdles scored 850 points and a 1.57m mark added 701 points to the junior's total. 

Henning was thrilled with Preston's performance in the shotput, "She came back and did a fantastic job in shotput, throwing three personal bests," said Henning. Preston came out strong, surpassing her previous best of 10.30m with a 10.59m first throw of the day. The athlete did not slow down, bettering her career-high to 10.74m to collect 578 points and place ninth.

Preston finished day one with a score of 2,933, after a 25.92 time in the 200m race. The standout ran in the second heat, taking eighth place amongst the field.

Alvarez stepped up in her lone event of the national competition this weekend. In the preliminary round of the 400 meter hurdles, the graduate student qualified for the finals with a 1:01.07 time.

The quick pace helped Alvarez notch seventh-place in the race. The final round with nine competitors of the 400 meter hurdles is set for Saturday at 7:05 pm (EST).

"At the end of the day, it's about competing well against the field regardless of the marks, and we felt we did a good job of that today! Looking forward to a great day two!" said Henning.

Preston will be back in action on Friday for the final three events of the heptathlon beginning at 9:30 am (EST).