AZUSA, Calif.---The Biola track and field teams concluded an exciting first day at the 2023 PacWest Championships.

"There were a lot of good things today, reflected head coach Sean Henning. "Several student-athletes stepped up in a big way and moved up the rankings list with personal bests throughout the day. I was very proud of the team and how they competed. The ladies did a great job setting themselves up for a strong day two and a run at a second place finish in the conference. I think our athletes had a really good mindset going into their events, seeking to glorify the Lord with their BEST efforts, nothing less." 

The Eagles had five podium finishes and had 12 athletes advance to finals in eight events.

Reanna Maroon and Caleb Pook both earned third place in pole vault. Maroon reached 3.50m at a height of 11' 5¾" and Pook reached 4.51m at a height of 14' 9½".
 

Caleb Pook placed THIRD in pole vault at the PacWest Championships👏 pic.twitter.com/qpDaHQ3FeV

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) April 29, 2023

Biola' next podium finish was in the 3,000m steeplechase where the Eagles were dominant. Grace Catena placed second with a time of 11:06.26 and Britta Holmberg was just behind her in third with a time of 11:15.66.

Charles Bailey recorded the Eagles next podium finish in the men's 3,000m steeplechase. Bailey finished third, blowing past his previous best time (9:23) by almost 15 seconds with his newest personal best of 9:10.39 which is also a NCAA provisional mark.

Biola's women had another dominant showing in the 10,000m run. Lynette Ruiz coasted past her opponents with a speedy time of 35:28.95 which was 22.5 seconds faster than the second place finisher. Ruiz was just shy of her personal best (Stanford Invite, 34:27.55), but recorded another provisional mark in the event.

Lynette finished the night strong for Biola with a 1️⃣st place finish in the 10,000m run 🦅 pic.twitter.com/2HdNh3NcTx

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) April 29, 2023

BU's women recorded 18 points in the 3,000m steeplechase and 10,000m run. Lolo Landrith scored some points with Catena and Holemberg by recording a fifth place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase (11:31.18). Haleigh Guerrero (5th, 38:42.46), Karis Brown (6th, 38:54.37), and Emma Gutierrez (8th, 39:31.14) all earned points with Ruiz in the 10,000m run.

Jada Pierce and Gigi Fierro totaled eight points for Biola in the hammer throw. Pierce led her team in fourth place with a throw of 43.35m and Fierro placed sixth with a throw of 40.81m. Fierro broke her personal record, twice, in the hammer throw this morning.

Sara Chao and Pierce tallied additional points for the Eagles in the javelin throw. Chao led her team with a throw of 36.07m and Pierce came in eighth with a throw of 34.53m.

Stefan Jungmichel also picked up points for the Eagles in the javelin, finishing eight with a throw of 48.40m.

Rebeka Preston, Kenna Chism, and Katie Thompson left an impression in the long jump, recording nine total points for their team. Preston placed fourth with a jump of 5.76m, Chism was sixth (5.34m) and Thompson was eighth (5.11m).

On the men's side, Jerry Baltzer closed the night for BU by grabbing some points in their last event of the day. Baltzer placed seventh with a time of 31:23.09 in the 10,000m run.

The Eagles had 12 athletes advance to the finals in eight different events including: Hannah Champness (5th, 1,500m run, 4:43.49), Hailey Wurzbach (8th, 1,500m run, 4:50.62), Bailey (2nd, 1,500m run, 4:00.09), Aiden Tomansini (12th, 1,500m run, 4:00.93), Preston (5th, 100m hurdles, 14.30), Mathias Davis (6th, 400m dash, 48.49), Champness (2nd, 800m run, 2:12.38), Maggie Williams (5th, 800m run, 2:12.29), Melt von Molendorff (5th, 800m run, 1:53.89), Caleb Murphy (7th, 800m run, 1:54.87), Preston (1st, 400m hurdles, 1:03.21), Joley Sproul (4th, 400m hurdles, 1:04.33), Sophia Morris (5th, 400m hurdles, 1:04.42) and Christian Lukens (8th, 400m hurdles, 57.39).

Rebeka Preston 1️⃣ST in the 400 hurdles prelim 🦅 pic.twitter.com/GAcdHbi6Xx

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) April 29, 2023

Biola's women are currently in second place (65), chasing first place Azusa Pacific by five points (70). The Eagles' men are in fourth place (16.50) behind Azusa Pacific (104.50), Fresno Pacific (52), and CUI (37).

The Eagles have 29 events remaining on Saturday.