EDMOND, Okla. (Jan. 19, 2022) – With more than two months elapsed since Oklahoma Christian's most recent swimming meet, coach Josh Davis wanted the Eagles to knock some rust off as they approached an important stretch of their schedule.

Mission accomplished. OC, ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division II, rolled past Sterling (Kan.) of the NAIA in a dual meet on Wednesday night at the Mitch Park YMCA pool. OC downed the Warriors 192-1, winning all 11 events to end a layoff that stretched back to mid-November.

"It's hard to believe that we haven't raced in almost two months, so this is really important that we got in and got off the blocks and got the rev going," Davis said. "It's a nice marker to see where we're at. When we race next week … we're going to be way better and then in three weeks in our conference championships, we should be back on track."

Two Eagles won two individual events each. Fourth-year junior Brandon Heredia of Maryville, Mo., took top honors in the 50-yard freestyle (20.82 seconds) and 100 freestyle (46.45 seconds). He still ranks in the top 30 in NCAA Division II in both events and no doubt will look to push his times lower in the coming weeks to ensure a berth in the Division II Championship meet in March in Greensboro, N.C.

Freshman J.T. Amrein of Bonner Springs, Kan., won the 100 breaststroke (55.22 seconds) and 200 individual medley (1:51.51). He ranks second and seventh, respectively, in Division II in those events and seems assured of a trip to the national meet.

Andrew Ehler of Oak Point, Texas – one of nine seniors honored before the dual began – won the 500 freestyle in 4:59.60. Freshman Dereck Montgomery of Rosenberg, Texas, won the 100 backstroke in 53.00 seconds while sophomore Elijah Tung of Columbia, S.C., took the 100 butterly in 51.84 seconds. Freshman Chase Fields of Tyler, Texas, won the 200 freestyle in 1:46.19.

The Eagles also won all three relay races. In the 200 freestyle relay, the quartet of Heredia, sophomore Jacob Nixon of Livermore, Calif., freshman Felix Berling of Meppen, Germany, and Montgomery won in 1:26.60. Amrein, Nixon, Tung and Fields posted a time of 3:14.32 to prevail in the 400 freestyle relay and it was Heredia, Amrein, Tung and Montgomery winning the 200 medley relay in 1:33.78.

Joining Ehler in Senior Day ceremonies before the dual meet were Heredia, Sam Carter, Zac Hawes, Brandon Hundley, Jackson Kaye, Daniel Rutledge, Noah Woolweever and Micah Young.

The Eagles' final dual meets of the season will be Jan. 28-29 in Springfield, Mo., against William Jewell (Mo.) and No. 3-ranked Drury (Mo.), respectively. After those meets will come the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships in Grand Junction, Colo., from Feb. 9-12.

Josh Davis discusses the meet: https://youtu.be/Q6E-RNO0wFk

Video of the meet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYf351Wq96c