GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 9, 2022) – Not even three months ago, Victor Rosado wasn't yet an Oklahoma Christian student. Needing a distance standout, OC swimming coach Josh Davis convinced Rosado to enroll at the semester break and join the Eagles' squad for the second semester.

Pardon the pun, but it's worked swimmingly for all parties involved. The freshman from St. Petersburg, Fla., became the first male All-America swimmer in the five-season history of the OC program, finishing fourth in the 1,000-yard freestyle in the NCAA Division II Championships on Wednesday night at Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Not long after Rosado's performance, his fellow OC freshman, J.T. Amrein, joined him as an All-American, winning the B final in the 200 individual medley to place ninth overall. Then Amrein and his 200 freestyle relay teammates won their heat in that event and placed 13th overall, earning the Eagles yet more team points.

By the end of the first day of the four-day meet, the Eagles – making their first appearance at the national level – had 30 team points, good for 15th place. And with many of their best events yet to come, the potential to move higher on that list certainly is there.

"This was a great first day," Davis said. "Victor gave it all he had – it was a great showing for a freshman. "J.T. crushed his own school record and put on a great show for everybody in the consols. The relay did exactly what we wanted them to do."

Once Rosado joined OC's squad, he quickly became not only the top distance swimmer for the Eagles, but one of the best at any program in Division II. He already holds school records in the freestyle distance events (at 500, 1,000 and 1,650 yards). He was named as the outstanding swimmer of the meet at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships last month after winning titles in all those events.

He had one of the coveted middle lanes for the final heat of the 1,000 on Wednesday night, but that ended up being a bit of a disadvantage, as he had difficulty gauging the swimmers in the outside lanes – Cedric Buessing of Indianapolis (Ind.) and Ward Lockhard of Rollins (Fla.) – who ended up being two of his primary competitors.

Rosado dueled for position with the swimmer in the next lane, Luca Alessandrini of Nova Southeastern (Fla.), for much of the first half of the race, while Buessing set the early pace outside. Rosado steadily moved from fourth, to third, and even to second for a few laps, but never caught Buessing.

Then Lockhard made his late move and blew past everyone to win in 9:00.93. Buessing held on for second (9:03.42) and Miguel Marcos of Wingate (N.C.) slipped by Rosado late to claim third place in 9:05.29. Rosado finished with a time of 9:06.39.

Rosado said 2022 so far for him has been a whirlwind as he adjusts not only to high-level college competition, but also attending a university far away from home and dealing with all of the demands that sort of lifestyle change requires.

"Josh talked to me and said, 'We need you to do your job.' I just came here to do my job," Rosado said. "I've concentrated. It's been tough on my brain, but I just keep concentrating. I've had experience at big meets before, so I kind of know how to handle (that). I've just had to concentrate and stay calm."

Davis was a bit wistful after seeing the program he built from scratch finally have a swimmer earn an All-America honor in the pool.

"It was five years in the making," Davis said. "We were reminiscing how far we've come from that first class. To be on the biggest stage and get fourth place is wonderful. Victor has only been here about two months. He's hungry. This is his first year and there will be more great things to come for him."

Rosado also might have found himself some rivals against which to compete during the coming years, as Lockhard is a sophomore and Buessing and Marcos also are freshmen. Rosado said this season was just "a warm-up" for him.

Seeing the program finally have an All-American "was five years in the making," Davis said. "We were reminiscing how far we've come from that first class. To be on the biggest stage and get fourth place is wonderful. Victor has only been here about two months. He's hungry. This is his first year and there will be more great things to come for him."

Amrein, from Bonner Springs, Kan., tied for 12th in the morning prelims for the 200 IM with a time of 1:47.61, relegating him into the nighttime B (consolation) final.

He made the most of the difficult situation, moving into the lead on the third (breaststroke) leg and holding it through the freestyle leg to win the B final in a school-record time of 1:46.15, which would have been good for fourth place had he posted it in the A final.

"He had something to prove and he did it," Davis said. "He swam a perfect race for him. He's a racer. He's a gamer."

Amrein's best events – the 100 and 200 breaststroke – remain. He's ranked No. 1 in Division II in the latter.

The Eagles swam in the first of three heats of the 200 freestyle relay and the quartet of Brandon Heredia, Felix Berling, Amrein and Dereck Montgomery seized control of the race over the final two legs and won in a school-record time of 1:20.51.

That time held up for a 14th-place overall finish among the 23 teams that competed, unusual because the teams in the two other heats all entered the meet with better times than the Eagles.

"The guys swam perfect," Davis said.

OC's other individual competitor on Wednesday was Heredia in the 50 freestyle. He finished 37th among the 43 competitors in the prelims with a time of 20.35 seconds and didn't advance to the evening races.

On Thursday, Heredia and Rosado both will compete in the last of six heats in the 200 freestyle during the prelims, looking to qualify for the evening final. In the evening session, the Eagles' 400 medley relay team of Montgomery, Amrein, Chase Fields and Heredia will swim in the second of three heats in that event.

MEET RESULTS