HOWARD VS VMI
- Saturday, November 6, 2021
- Lexington, Va.
- Results
Courtesy: Howard Athletics
LEXINGTON, Va. (November 6, 2021) – Howard University men’s swimming & diving team edged out Virginia Military Institute (VMI), 153-143, in their first road dual meet of the season.
With the victory, HU improved to 2-1 in dual competition while winning back-to-back meets since January 2020.
Howard won 10 races on the afternoon, including a pair of relays.
Juniors Mark-Anthony Beckles (Chaguanas, Trinidad & Tobago), Miles Simon (Atlanta) and Arion Solomon, along with newcomer Tai Afrik (Holland, Mich.), won the 400 Free Relay, clocking in at 3:08.18. For their efforts, they recorded the fifth-fastest mark in school history.
During the same event, Simon opened as the lead leg and posted the 10th-best time with a 46.55 mark (100 Free).
Individually, the Atlanta product claimed first in the 200 Breast (2:10.65), eighth-fastest in program history.
Beckles won the 100 Fly with the ninth-best mark in school history (51.21) while Afrik took first place in the 200 Free (1:47.01).
HU opened the day with a win in the 400 Medley Relay, led by Beckles, Simon and rookies Brenton Cooper (Baton Rouge, La.) and Darin Johnson (Atascocita, Texas), producing a 3:30.26 time.
Cooper also earned gold individually in the 50 Free with a 22.70 mark.
Junior Luke-Kennedy Thompson (Nassau, Bahamas), reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Swimmer of the Week, won a pair of events in the 1000 Free (10:00.70) and 500 Free (4:50.50). The Bahamas native sits fourth all-time in the program’s 1000 Free leaderboard.
Freshman Cyrus Gibson (Ocala, Fla.) also competed in the 1000 Free where he etched his name in the school record book, recording the ninth-best mark (10:22.89).
Other notable performance in the pool included junior Reese Samuel (Pittsburgh) winning the 200 Fly (1:59.08) with the seventh-fastest time in school history.
On the board, newcomer Isaiah Swilley (Bourbonnais, Ill.) finished first in the 1-meter dive, scoring 240.10 points.
On Nov. 13, HU travels to Loretta, Pa., to face newly NEC rivals Saint Francis (Pa.) and LIU in a three-team meet. First race is set for 1 p.m.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.
LEXINGTON, Va. (November 6, 2021) – Howard University women’s swimming & diving team picked up their first win of the season, dominating Virginia Military Institute (VMI), 179-107.
HU grabbed over a dozen victories on the afternoon, including a pair of wins in the relay events.
Sophomore Isabella Fountain (White Plains, N.Y.) and Michaela Spears (Chicago) and freshmen Jorden Hill (Birmingham, Ala.) and Kelsey Roberson (West Orange, N.J.) competed in the 400 Free Relay where they placed first overall (3:47.25).
Individually, Fountain claimed the top spot in the 200 Free (2:03.82) while Spears took home gold in the 200 Breast (2:34.17). Hill and Roberson also earned wins in the 100 Back (1:01.51) and 50 Free (56.04), respectively.
Howard was victorious in the 400 Medley Relay, led by Hill, Spears, senior Madison Freeland (Glenside, Pa.) and junior Courtney Connolly (White Lake, Mich.), clocking in at 4:07.69.
Connolly also took part in the 100 Fly, winning with a time of 1:01.83.
Rookie Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson (Nassau, Bahamas) etched herself in the record books, producing the fifth-fastest in school history (11:12.02). In the 200 IM, the Bahamas native won with a 2:19.02 mark.
Junior Breyahna Tyme (Ontario, Canada) earned first in the 200 Back, registering the seven-best time in program history (2:15.29).
Other notable performances in the pool included sophomore Aaliyah Young (Burleson, Texas) winning the 50 Free event (26.31) and fellow classmate Alana Josey (York, Pa.) recording the third-fastest mark in school history with a victory in the 200 Fly (2:11.93).
On the board, junior Teyana Johnson (San Antonio) placed first in the 1-meter dive with a 200.15 score.
On Nov. 13, HU travels to Loretta, Pa., to face newly NEC rivals Saint Francis (Pa.) and LIU in a three-team meet. First race is set for 1 p.m.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.
Courtesy: VMI Athletics
LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams hosted their first home meet of the 2021-22 season Saturday against visiting Howard University, but fell in both men’s (153-143) and women’s competition (179-107) from Clark King Pool.
The men’s half of the meet came down to the final race, the 400 free relay, with VMI trailing just 140-139. A Bison team won the race to clinch the meet victory.
Many Keydets recorded many top times and first-place performances. Sophomore Chino Vera won two events in the fastest times of his career; the men’s 100 backstroke in 53.77 and the 100 free in 47.72. Jack Sheehan also won two events; the 200 IM in 1:58.50 and the 100 breaststroke in 59.69. Connor Doyle was first in the 200 back in 2:00.55 was second in the 200 free in 1:47.07. The VMI divers swept the 3 meter dive with Bridger Thurston winning with a score of 202.85, while he took second in the 1 meter (222.10).
Collin Marks placed third in the 1,000 free (10:49.15), Ethan Griffin was second in the 200 fly (1:59.88) and Ryan Cooper was also second in the 200 breast (2:16.05). Sam Chopper was second in the 500 free in 5:02.45, Tyler Blackwell was third in the 100 fly in 53.86 and Mike Tulupov was fourth in the 50 free in 23.27. The 400 freestyle relay team of Doyle, Dalton Cosner, Tulupov and Vera finished second in 3:14.71 and the 400 medley team of Doyle, Chase Lane, Griffith and Kurt Comber was third in 3:43.22.
Freshman Rachel Greathouse broke the school freshman record in the 1,000 free in 11:02.28 and also won the 500 free in 5:12.94. Anne Bowles took first place in the 100 breast in 1:09.48 and was second in the 200 breast in 2:37.48. The 400 medley relay team of Ruki Sarkari, Bowles, Isabella DeCosta and Courtney Novotny was second in 4:17.13 while the 400 free team of DeCosta, Novotny, Jillian Maher and Greathouse was third in 3:51.67.
The women’s 3 meter diving team swept the event, with London Yerasimides posting a high score of 186.65 and she placed second in the 1 meter (192.05). Sarkari was second in the 200 IM (2:26.77) and third in the 100 back (1:04.89), while Novotny was second in the 200 free in 2:03.89 and third in the 100 free in 57.90. Carter Wasser recorded a second-place finish in the 200 back in 2:21.37 and Maher was third in the 100 fly in 1:08.12. Kate Taylor took fourth in the 50 free in 27.17.
VMI travels to UMBC next Saturday at 1 p.m.
