GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (Feb. 11, 2022) –
Cheyenne Parks set a pool record and all but assured herself of a berth at the NCAA Division II national meet, winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title in the 200-yard butterfly on Friday night.
Parks, a sophomore from Guthrie, set a school record in the event and later swam the leadoff leg on the Eagles' 800 freestyle relay team that established another school mark.
The versatile Parks shines in all strokes, but she's particularly potent in the butterfly and she dominated from start to finish to win the first women's event title in the five-year history of OC's program. Her time of 2:02.03 was more than five seconds better than the runner-up, Erin Taggart of Colorado School of Mines, and her altitude-adjusted time of 2:00.83 ranks seventh this season in Division II, according to the website collegeswimming.com.
Parks' previous school record in the event was 2:03.79, set in November in the Eagle Invitational in Edmond, Okla. The previous pool record at El Pomar Natatorium was 2:02.67, set by Kristina Tchernyshev of California Baptist in 2017.
OC's former school mark in the 800 freestyle relay also was set at the Eagle Invitational, a 7:44.78 clocking by Parks,
Mallory Mead,
Laura Byars and
Kayci McKinnon. In finishing second on Friday, the Eagles' quartet of Parks, Mead,
Jaiden Branstrom and McKinnon lowered that by a considerable margin, finishing in 7:40.13, which, when adjusted for altitude, will be 7:35.33.
Three other OC swimmers qualified for A event finals. McKinnon, a sophomore from Trophy Club, Texas, took sixth in the 500 freestyle in 5:10.18 (5:05.18 altitude-adjusted). In the 100 backstroke, freshman
Vivian Pitsch of Koblenz, Germany, was sixth in 57.80 seconds, with sophomore
Hope Hill of Santa Clarita, Calif., seventh in 58.14 seconds.
The Eagles' top finisher in the 100 breaststroke was junior
Andrea Rogers of St. Charles, Mo., who took 10th in 1:07.94.
Entering the final day of the meet, OC is in a tight race for third place in the seven-team field. The Eagles have 380 team points, with Western Colorado fourth with 371. Meet host Colorado Mesa leads with 1,020.5 points and Colorado Mines second with 589.5.
Saturday's schedule will include the 1,650 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay.
