Bison Take Two Titles at Swimming & Diving National Championships

It is the fourth straight title for the men, dating back to the program's inception in the 2011-12 season. The Lady Bison earned their third consecutive title.

OBU took home titles in 13-of-20 women's events, scoring a total of 745 points. SCAD Savannah (Ga.) was runner-up on the women's side with 481 points, followed by Brenau (Ga.) at 439.

Bison men claimed 11-of-20 titles and finished with a score of 798.5. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) captured second place in the men's field with 575.5 points, while the Bees rounded out the top three at 403. Bison swimmers set five new NAIA National Championship records at the three-day meet.

The Bison also swept the meet awards, claiming a share of all eight honors. Laura Galarza of Oklahoma Baptist and Christine Tixier from Biola (Calif.) were named the 2015 Women's Swimmers of the Year. Galarza also earned Women's Swim of the Meet honors.

Daniel Ramirez is the 2015 Men's Swimmer of the Year, as well as winning Swim of the Meet. Kristen Brimage is the Women's Diver of the Year, while Zak Rowton was named Men's Diver of the Year.

Bison head coach Dr. Sam Freas was named both the Men's and Women's NAIA Coach of the Year.

Kristen Brimage won the Women's 1-Meter Diving title for the third straight year, posting a finals score of 266.30. Genesis Veliz finished second at 239.45, Lydia Kellar was sixth with 152.55 points, and Skyla Underwood finished seventh at 150.95.

Ines Remersaro took her second straight Women's 200-Yard Backstroke title in 2:00.27. Tammy Price was third at 2:02.64, with Alena Titenkova finishing eighth in a finals time of 2:10.95.

Nico Brun finished runner-up in the Men's 200-Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:47.12, and Andrew Nelson was fifth in the event at 1:48.86.

Bison and Lady Bison dominated the 100-Yard Freestyle events, taking the top two times in the Women's 100-Yard Freestyle and the top three times in the Men's 100-Yard Freestyle. Laura Galarza repeated as champion with a time of 49.63, followed by Emma Forbes-Milne at 50.81. Andrea Antonissen finished fifth (51.65) and Lexie Keller was sixth (51.85).

Daniel Ramirez won the Men's 100-Yard Freestyle at 43.79, followed by JP Joyetche at 44.44 and Marc Sambolin in 44.64. Javier Sossa was sixth with a finals time of 45.06.

Kerryn Mullin was crowned champion in the Women's 200-Yard Breaststroke with a finals time of 2:19.83. Leslie White was fourth at 2:25.21.

Fernando Morillas set a new NAIA National Championship record in the Men's 200-Yard Breaststroke at 1:56.96, shattering the record set by former Bison Gregory Penny by over two seconds.

Juan Cuellar was fourth in the Men's 200-Yard Butterfly at 1:52.22, followed by Sossa in sixth at 1:52.42.

Zak Rowton completed the sweep of the diving events with another national record. He took the Men's 3-Meter Diving title with a finals score of 350.80. Mark Pontier was third (221.95), Jarod Haynes fourth (213.65), Khoi Ngo fifth (199.20), and Adam Cribbs finished sixth (191.90).

The Lady Bison won the Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay, winning in a time of 3:23.11, over six seconds ahead of runner-up SCAD Savannah (Ga.). Galarza, Forbes-Milne, Antonissen, and Keller took the final women's event of the meet.

Bison men closed out the meet with a win in the Men's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay with a finals time of 2:56.93. A team of Goyetche, Sambolin, Sossa, and Ramirez punctuated the national championship with a victory in the final event.

It was the final NAIA event for Oklahoma Baptist, as the Bison will now transition to NCAA Division II. In four seasons competing in the NAIA, OBU claimed seven national titles and one runner-up finish.