A new national qualification, one event winner and several new personal bests highlighted the Biola track and field performance at the Ben Brown Invite hosted by CSU Fullerton.

Women’s triple jump

The high point of the day in terms of national qualifiers occurred in the women’s triple jump, as sophomore Teddi Wright earned herself an NAIA ‘B’ qualifier. Her jump spanned 11.5m, good enough for a fourth place finish in a field of 20. This was the first time Wright attempted the triple jump in competition.

The one event winner came thanks to senior pole vaulter Nicole Falkenstein, one of the athletes who competed both at nationals and at the Ben Brown meet. This time, she could not match her height at nationals, but still finished first overall with a height of 3.55m. The next closest competitor, Siena Morgan from CSU Fullerton, only vaulted 3.40m.

The women had a few more solid finishers, starting with junior Amber Godinez, who set a new season-best for herself in the 100m hurdle. She finished the race in 16.71, a time that gave her 15th of the 26 runners. Also of note was the performance of junior Stephanie Chaires and freshman Emily Ransom in the mile. They finished in 18th and 19th with their times of 5:21 and 5:23.

A final women’s event with two solid finishers was the 5000m, in which freshmen Kaitlin Quaid and Kelly Thomas finished first and eighth in the ‘B’ running. Quaid crossed the finish line in 18:23, while Thomas was not far behind at 18:56.

Solid Finishers

On the men’s side, the hammer throw event, originally scheduled for Friday night, was postponed to Saturday. Sophomore Andrew Cecil and junior Dylan Fredenburg each broke a personal record, finishing in 36th and 37th place. Cecil threw the hammer 34.81m while Fredenburg heaved it 33.71m.

Additional quality finishes on the men’s side came in the mile and the 800m. Senior Andrew Daedler finished the mile in 4:14, earning him a second place podium spot. Sophomore Wes Noyes and freshman Aditya Lal finished well in the 800m, with Noyes ending up just off the podium with a fourth place finish in 1:56 and Lal claiming the ninth spot with a 1:57.

The Eagles’ next meet is on March 19, when they travel to Point Loma Nazarene University for the Ross and Sharon Irwin College Scoring Meet.