Howard vs Catholic
- January 20, 2024
- Washington, D.C.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Howard Athletics
WASHINGTON (January 20, 2024) – The women of Howard University swimming and diving capped the last dual meet of the 2023-24 season with a win, defeating the Catholic Cardinals, 181-56.
The Bison dominated the Cardinals, winning every event with both senior Michaela Spears (Chicago) and junior Jordynn Connell (Flower Mound, Texas) leading the way, scoring two gold finishes apiece.
The Bison kicked off the meet with a bang, cruising to a first-place finish in the 400-Medley Relay. The Bison dominated the Cardinals with HU’s A relay team coming in nearly a full six seconds ahead of their runner-up teammates on Howard B relay team.
Sophomore Skylar Debnam (Chandler, Ariz.) earned the first individual gold for the women with her time of 10:56.25 in the 1000-Free.
Rookie Tiara Jackson (Los Angeles) swam to a first-place finish and her best time in the 200-Free this season with an exciting 2:02.12 – a finger ahead of the runner-up Cardinal in lane two.
Junior Kelsey Roberson (West Orange, N.J.) earned her gold in the 50-Free with her swim of 24.86. Fellow classmate Myeisha Sharrieff (Bermuda) was right on her heels, coming in with a time of 25.40.
Swimming a time of 2:13.84, Spears claimed her first gold on the afternoon in the 200-IM with enough time to relax at the end of the pool while the competition battled it out in the rankings.
Connell flew to new heights, winning the 1M dive with a score of 215.65. The junior went on to secure the 3M with her score of 220.80.
Senior Alana Josey (York, Pa.) followed up with her success in the 200-Fly, swimming the event in 2:12.73.
The Bison gave yet another exciting race in the 100-Free when three Bison stayed within a hand of each other throughout the event. Swimming a season best of 54.67, senior Isabella Fountain (White Plains, N.Y.) took home the gold with fellow standout junior Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson (Nassau, Bahamas) claiming runner-up, just 0.41 seconds behind her. Roberson rounded out the top three with her time of 56.54.
Newcomer Summer McKoy (Pikesville, Md.) beat her competition by nearly a full second in the 200-Back.
The Bison cruised by the Cardinals in the 500-Free with sophomore Kali Garcia (Altamonte, Fla.) leading the way, swimming the event in 4:53.39.
Spears earned the final first-place finish in the 200-Breaststroke with her swim of 2:29.96, mere tenths of a second ahead of Thompson. Josey rounded out the top three to extend HU’s lead.
In a fan favorite, the Bison bested the competition in the 400-Free Relay with a time of 3:40.02.
On Feb. 20-24, the Bison are back in action when they kick off the Northeast Conference Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
WASHINGTON (January 20, 2024) – The men of Howard University swimming and diving closed out the last dual meet of the 2023-24 season on a high, defeating the Catholic Cardinals, 174-63.
The Bison capitalized on 12 first-place finishes with both graduate Luke-Kennedy Thompson (Nassau, Bahamas) and junior Jordan Walker (San Antonio) leading the way, scoring two apiece.
The Bison started strong, claiming the 400-yard Medley Relay with a time of 3:38.21 – over six seconds faster than the competition.
Junior Tai Afrik (Holland, Mich.) earned the first individual gold finish for the men in the 200-Free when he outswam one of Catholic’s top freestylers by a second, coming in with a time of 1:47.12.
Senior Spencer Miles (Lynchburg, Va.) gave the fans an exciting race in the 50-Free, beating the competition by 0.39 seconds with his swim of 21.67.
In one of the more exciting races of the day, it was Bison vs Bison to the end with teammates L. Thompson (LKT) and junior Erald Thompson III (Nassau, Bahamas) coming in just .05 seconds of each other. LKT took the gold with a time of 1:58.55.
Walker kept the momentum going, winning the men’s 1M dive with a score of 251.40 before dominating the 3M as well. The junior set a new record in the feat, winning with a score of 279.70.
Sophomore Taj Benton (Baltimore) cruised to his first-place finish in the 200-Butterfly, beating his runner-up teammate by over four seconds.
Graduate Arion Solomon (Fairburn, Ga.) had a close one with fellow Afrik in the 100-Free. The grad student came out on top with a time of 47.81, just a hand ahead of Afrik.
Bison duo senior Tristan Stevens (Chicago) and sophomore Darien Williams (Philadelphia) gave the fans an exhilarating race, going stroke-for-stroke in the 200-Back. Stevens got the upper hand, coming in less than a tenth of a second ahead of the Philadelphia native.
LKT earned his final top finish in the 500-Free with a comfortable lead over the Cardinals beside him. The Bahamian finished with a time of 4:53.39.
Senior Niles Rankin (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) earned the men’s final individual top finish with a swim of 2:11.54 in the 200-Breaststroke.
The men capped the afternoon by claiming the win in the 400-Free Relay with a time of 3:13.84 – nearly two full seconds ahead of the Bison’s C relay team.
Next up, the Bison take a month-long hiatus before kicking off this year’s Northeast Conference Championships in Geneva, Ohio (Feb. 20-24).
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.
Courtesy: Catholic Athletics
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Catholic University women’s swimming and diving team battled against D1 Howard in dual meet action on Saturday afternoon. Despite a final score of 181-56, the Cardinals registered four first-place finishes and eight third-place finishes.
The meet was prefaced with a celebration honoring the team’s three female seniors who have contributed endlessly to the program over the past four years. Mary Grace Ciaccia, Morgan Sachleben and Alexandra Tomaine all competed in today’s meet and came together in the last event to swim the 400-yard freestyle relay as a unit. Tomaine also shined in the 1000-yard freestyle where she recorded a personal best time of 11:37.28 for third place. Sachleben snagged a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:47.03.
Catholic was led by Tara Wiarda who earned two individual second places in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard IM. Her back time was 2:14.89 and she finished the IM in 2:20.71.
Maura Sadowski also had a strong day for the Cardinals with second and third place individual finishes. Her 200-yard freestyle performance earned her second place with a time of 2:02.96 while her 200-yard backstroke time was the third fastest in the event.
One the diving side, the Cardinals had three athletes compete on the 1-meter board for the first time this season. Mychaela Dunham led the way for Catholic with 133.70 points and a third-place finish. Jo Hewitt came in just behind Dunham, racking up 119.05 points after six dives. Margaret O’Brien rounded out the squad with 77.30 points and a fifth-place finish to add to the scoreboard.
With one more dual meet left in the regular season, the Cardinals sit at 3-4 overall. They will host Salisbury next Saturday, January 27 at 1 p.m. before gearing up for Landmark Conference Championships in mid-February.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Catholic University men’s swimming and diving team dropped a 63-174 decision to the visiting D1 Howard Bison in a dual meet on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals fought hard against the tough competition and recorded fourteen top-three finishes.
Sean Kelty got things started for the Cardinals with a first place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle. Kelty is a true distance swimmer and has been hovering around the ten minute mark throughout his freshman campaign. He clocked a 10:06.40 today. Kelty also placed third in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:03.65.
Shawn Mashburn recorded a second place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:55.63. He grabbed third place in the 200-yard freestyle and clocked a 1:48.31.
Also on the leader board was Nathan Ober, whose performance was headlined by a season-best time and a second place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. He improved his time by 1.8% to finish in 22.06 seconds. He showed off his breaststroke speed as well in the 200-yard race with a time of 2:14.18 and a third place finish.
Daniel Green rounded out the top performers with a second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. He finished in 1:48.13 to snag the Cardinals four points. He added another two points to the board with a fourth place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.
The four Catholic seniors, who were honored before the start of the meet, combine to swim the 400-yard freestyle relay together. Ober led things off and Danny O’Leary dove in after him, Matthew Williams swam the third leg and Elijah Feret completed the relay. Ferret swam the 200-yard IM as well and touched in 2:19.90 to earn sixth place. O’Leary recorded a season best split in the 400-yard medley relay.
On the diving boards, sophomore Charles Connolly III was the sole competitor for Catholic. He excelled to earn second place on both the one and three meter boards. His one meter performance earned him 240.55 points while his three meter dives combined for a score of 206.00.
The Cardinals will compete in their last dual meet of the season on January 27 as they welcome Salisbury to the Dufour Center Pool. The first event is set to start at 1 p.m.
