GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (Feb. 18, 2021) – Cheyenne Parks obliterated Oklahoma Christian's 400-yard individual medley record and earned a spot on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's all-conference list during a memorable performance on Thursday in the RMAC Championships at El Pomar Natatorium.

Parks, a sophomore from Guthrie, Okla., finished second in the 400 IM in 4:33.24, a time which – when adjusted for altitude – will be recognized as 4:28.24. That easily meets the NCAA Division II B-cut standard and puts Parks in contention for a spot at next month's national meet in Birmingham, Ala.

OC's 400 IM record before Thursday was 4:39.13, set by Hanna Forbat in last year's RMAC meet in Grand Junction. Parks broke that mark by swimming 4:38.89 (non-altitude-adjusted) in the prelims before her brilliant performance in the final, in which she trailed only Grace Payton of meet host Colorado Mesa (4:32.24 before altitude adjustment).

The top two finishers in each event will be recognized following the season on the All-RMAC list. Parks will be only the second All-RMAC first-team selection in the four-year history of the OC program, joining teammate Jamie McGarrigle, who made the first-team list last year in the 50 freestyle.

Also in the 400 IM, OC junior Grace Hill, a junior from Santa Clarita, Calif., made the A final and finished sixth in 4:42.32. Earlier in the day, Hill received the prestigious Summit Award from the RMAC for having the highest grade-point average among swimmers competing in the league meet.

McGarrigle, a senior from Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., made the A final in the 100 butterfly and finished fifth in 58.57 seconds. Two Eagles made the B final in the 200 freestyle, with freshman Olivia Rollen of Edmond, Okla., finishing 10th in 1:56.62 and freshman Jaiden Branstrom of Lenexa, Kan., finishing 15th in 1:59.89.

In the day's final race, the 400 medley relay, the OC quartet of sophomore Hope Hill, McGarrigle, Parks and Branstrom finished fifth in 3:57.47.

OC remained in fourth place in the eight-team meet, with 199 team points at the midway point. Colorado Mesa has 509.5 points and is comfortably ahead of second-place Colorado School of Mines with 259. Oklahoma Baptist is third with 218 points. Western Colorado is fifth with 157.5, followed by Colorado State-Pueblo with 116, Nebraska-Kearney with 84 and Adams State (Colo.) with 29.

On Friday, swimmers will compete in the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 200 butterfly, along with the 800 freestyle relay.