SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist swim and dive teams can comfortably smile now at their rapid escalation in the NCAA Division II ranks after fashioning a stellar performance at the recently completed NCAA Division II National Championships.
Both the men's and women's teams were top 20 finishers in only their second year as a full-time NCAA Division. The women finished 10th while the men were 20th, a stunning accomplishment since the program has been in existence since only 2011.
A number of swimmers and divers had breakthrough years not only collecting All-American honors but lowering school records to elite levels.
Juliana Cifuentes,
Victoria Fonville and
Marizel Van Jaarsveld each took turns with headlining performances on their way to earning All-American recognition. Cifuentes set school record in both the 100 breaststroke (1.02.40) and the 200 breastroke (2.15.93). Fonville swam the fastest 50 freestyle (22.32) and 100 freestyle (49.42) in school annals while Van Jaarsveld time of 4:19.0 in the 400 IM was also a school best.
For the men, diver
Otto Lehtonen and swimmer
Robinson Molina were among the best in NCAA Division II as each earned All-American honors. Lehtonen was a narrow second-place finisher in the three-meter dive while accumulating a school best 562 points. He finished fifth in the one meter board.
Molina swam in seven events at the NCAA meet, including four as an individual and three on relay teams. He earned All-American certification by finishing seventh in the 100 meter backstroke.
Other All-Americans included relay swimmers
Miriam Avila,
Julie Day and
Jamie Edwards. Honorable Mention All Americans were, Maddie Carson,
Genesis Veliz, Gabriel Knaut, Felipe Ramirez,
Austin Saunders and
Ryan Walker
The bulk of both teams return for 2020 with the women graduating Avila Veliz while the men bid farewell Lehtonen, Ramirez, Saunders, and Walker.
The season will officially end at a long-course meet at the University of Arkansas in April as swimmers seek to qualify for U.S. Olympic Trials, Pan American Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
OBU has had swimmers and divers participate in the Pan-American Games, World Championships, and the London and Rio Olympic Games. Tokyo is on the horizon for several OBU swimmers.
The future remains bright for OBU Swimming and Diving with optimism abounding for the recruiting class slated to attend this fall.
