CLAREMONT, Calif.---The Biola Men's and Women's Track & Field teams opened up the 2023 season with a promising start at the Pomona-Pitzer Track & Field All Comers Meet. 

"We had lots of good marks today," commented head coach Sean Henning. "This is a great start to the season, we have plenty to work on but we are happy with the start. The team was very supportive of one another and it was great to see so many people cheering for each other."

Biola participated in 30 events at the Pomona-Pitzer Track & Field All Comers Meet, 16 of which were running events and 14 were field events. As a team, the Eagles collected 38 podium finishes through the 30 events and eight event victories.

BU's victories were in the women's 100m hurdles, women's 3000m run, women's 4x100m relay, women's 400m hurdles, women's hammer throw, women's long jump, women's long jump and men's triple jump.

The Eagles started off strong with some impressive hurdle performances. Stefan Jungmichel opened the meet by breaking a school record in the 110m hurdles. Jungmichel's time of 15.03 beat Nathaniel Belden's time from 2019 by .01 of a second (15.04) and gave him second place. Christian Lukens was right behind Jungmichel with a time of 16 which placed him third in the 12-person event. 

The women continued the Eagles' success in the 100 meter hurdles. The podium was full of Biola student-athletes with all three top spots belonging to BU. Sophia Morris led the group in first place with a personal-best mark of 15.62 and was followed by Priscilla Jones in second at 15.73 and Kenna Chism in third at 15.83.

Biola had two medalists in women's 3k run. Bethany Mapes came across the line first, recording a time of 10:00.73. Mapes' impressive finish was just five seconds away from creating a new school record for BU and Lynette Ruiz finished third with a time of 10:06.27.

The women received another first place finish in the 4x100m relay. Jones, Audrey Mousa, Maria Vidal Poy and Kelaiah Moore teamed up to give BU the first place finish, recording a time of 49.13.

Biola's women finished in the top-three in two more running events including the 400m hurdles and the mile.

Rebeka Preston crossed the line first in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:02.67. Preston was just .3 of a second off a national provision with her impressive time. Sophia Morris was right behind Preston, recording a time of 1:06.13 for second place.

Maggie Williams and Hannah Champness placed second and third respectively in the mile run. Williams' second place finish of 4:56.55 was only one and a half seconds away from making the school's new mile record.

BU's men had a notable finish in the 4x400m relay. Trevor Hormel, Dominic Castro, Shelby Rutledge, and Jack Sapyta finished third in the eight-team event with a time of 3:27.98.

Meanwhile, Biola participated in 14 field events where they recorded 10 top-three finishes. 

Jada Pierce executed her first-place throw on her fourth attempt of the hammer throw which traveled 41.73m. Pierce tallied another podium finish in shot put, placing third with a throw that landed 11.49m away.

Gigi Fierro also received a third place finish with a 37.95m discus throw.

Both Reanna Maroon and Caleb Pook tied for third in their pole vaulting events. Maroon recorded a distance of 3.35m and Pook recorded a distance of 4.31m.

The men and the women fared well in the jumps. Joshua Jackson reached a height of 13.49m to place first in the triple jump. BU's Kathryn Thompson also placed in the triple jump, receiving third with a distance of 10.93m.

Biola's women placed first and third in the high jump, thanks to Hanna Bevan and Olivia Doyle. Bevan ranked first with a height of 1.65m and Doyle's height was 1.50m for third place.

BU's women dominated the long jump, receiving all three top spots. Chism received first (5.09m), Thompson was second (5.07m), and Vidal Poy was third (4.94m).

On the men's side, Jackson led BU with a second-place finish in the long jump (6.45m) and he was trailed by Jayden Bennett in third (6.38m) and AJ Antonio in fifth (6.31m).

Mathias Davis was Biola's solo competitor at the Soka University Indoor Qualifier. Davis competed in the 600m run where placed second of 36 participants with a time of 1:23.17.

The Eagles compete next on Friday, Mar. 3 at the Beach Opener.
CLICK HERE for men's track & field schedule.
CLICK HERE for women's track & field schedule.