GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 11, 2022) – Oklahoma Christian swimmer J.T. Amrein watched his teammate and fellow freshman, Victor Rosado, earn a trophy for a top-eight national finish on the opening day of the NCAA Division II Championships. Amrein determined then to do whatever he needed to do to earn one himself.

He did just that at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on Friday, the meet's third day. The freshman from Bonner Springs, Kan., took third in the 100-yard breaststroke to secure an All-America first-team honor, not long after Rosado picked up his second such award with a runner-up finish in the 500 freestyle.

On perhaps the greatest day in the five-year history of the OC program, the Eagles – making their first appearance at nationals with a seven-man squad that's much smaller than most of their competitors – soared into 12th place in the team standings thanks to the efforts of Rosado, Amrein and their 800 freestyle relay teammates. With 94 points, the Eagles trail 10th-place Nova Southeastern (Fla.) by only 23 points, with four events left to contest on Saturday, the meet's final day.

"It's a tremendous milestone for OC swimming, with Victor second and J.T. third," OC coach Josh Davis said. "It really moved us up in the national rankings tonight. It was amazing – and they're freshmen. It just really changed a lot of things, including the trajectory of our team and how people view us. It shows we belong and we can do well here. I think it will spread to the rest of the team and it will let recruits out there see that they can go really fast here and have a good time."

Amrein knew he'd let an opportunity slip away on Wednesday, when he failed to advance out of the preliminary round into the A final of the 200 individual medley. He swam that night in the B final and blew away the field with a time that would have been fourth in the A final, but they don't award trophies for B-final winners.

Thus motivated, he took care of business in the 100 breaststroke prelims, posting a school-record time of 53.04 seconds, good for fifth place, with the top eight swimmers advancing. In the evening session, he lowered his time even further, to 52.63 seconds. He couldn't quite catch Ludo Viberti of Florida Southern (52.35 seconds) or Jan Zuchowicz of Indianapolis (Ind.) (52.41 seconds), but Amrein beat everyone else.

"I have (our coaches) video all my swims and I really analyze every stroke, every pullout, every turn," Amrein said. "I look at other people and … I analyze everyone, to see if I can do better than they can, or to see if they do better than I do. It's like a back-and-forth thing of who comes out in the end. I really focused on good strong pull-outs and not looking over to see who was with me or wasn't with me. Just straight ahead – get up and go."

Among his best swimming memories, Amrein counts being presented with awards in his home state by swimming luminaries Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. He said Friday night will rank with those in his mind.

"This is so cool," Amrein said. "I felt robbed in the IM. I made the B final but it doesn't count if you go faster. I was fourth in the country (in time) but I didn't get a trophy. This definitely makes up for it. It is so cool!"

Rosado, from St. Petersburg, Fla., enrolled at OC in January and quickly emerged as one of Division II's top distance swimmers, as evidenced by his fourth-place finish on Wednesday in the 1,000 freestyle. He went two spots better on Wednesday in the 500 freestyle.

Like Amrein, he twice lowered the school record in that event, first in the prelims (4:24.56), then again in the final (4:23.11). In the latter race, he spent much of the first 350 meters in third or fourth place, then turned up the heat and began catching competitors, passing Luke Erwee of Queens (N.C.), then Luca Alessandrini of Nova Southeastern. By that time, though, Ward Lockhart of Rollins (Fla.) had pulled away and he won in 4:20.44.

"I just wanted to come out calm," Rosado said. "I wanted to try and catch everyone in the last 100 and it kind of worked out. I'm just trying to be grateful. I thank God and my family and everyone who's helped me. More to come!"

Davis, of course, was thrilled to see the success of Amrein and Rosado, and even more thrilled that each has potentially three more seasons in the OC program to improve.

"Both of them swam their best times," Davis said. "Both really managed their energy well today, getting their body and mind ready to do it again in the big final. It was really impressive. I am so proud of them. They have done a lot for OC swimming and our future."

The Eagles capped their night with a ninth-place showing in the 800 freestyle relay. The quartet of Rosado, Caleb Musser, Chase Fields and Heredia finished in 6:32.34. Heredia – a junior from Maryville, Mo., and the only non-freshman of the group – overhauling two opponents during his anchor leg, which was clocked in 1:36.01.

"We were just off the podium, but it was a valiant effort," Davis said. "It's hard to race at 9 p.m. but they did really good."

On Saturday, Rosado will swim in the 1,650 freestyle, Amrein in the 200 breaststroke – an event in which he enters the meet ranked No. 1 in Division II – and Heredia in the 100 freestyle. The Eagles also qualified for the meet in the 400 freestyle relay and will field a team consisting of Musser, Amrein, Heredia and freshman Dereck Montgomery.

MEET RESULTS