February 17, 2012 - The Howard Bison Swimming and Diving team continues it program's ascent with another outstanding day of competition at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championships in Athens, Georgia. Four more school records were broken during Friday's competition with 22 additions to the Bison's Top-10 list.
After the second day of competition, the women's team has moved into 10th place while the Howard men remain in fifth place.
The record setting performances were ignited by freshman Briana Dillon. Dillon (Katy, TX) led the Lady Bison to the team first finals appearance with her stellar performance in the 100 backstroke. After breaking the school record in the preliminary rounds, Dillon fired a 58.01, re-breaking her previous school record set 10 hours earlier and finishing in 10th place overall.
Dillon also led the Lady Bison in the 800 freestyle relay. Teamed with sophomores Ashley Douglas (Missouri City, TX,) and Janai Ederaine (Corona, CA) along with junior E'lan Brewer (Lansing, MI) the Ladies were tremendous in breaking the previous school record by over 4 seconds. Their time of 8:02.46 was good for ninth place overall. Dillon's lead-off leg split of 1:57.80 moves her into second place all-time in Howard history for the 200 freestyle.
Earlier in the day Dillon and Ederaine moved into second and third, respectively, all-time in HU history in the 100 butterfly. Dillon's time of 58:92 placed her in 22nd for the competition with Ederaine coming in at :58.94 during the afternoon time trials session.
Ederaine can now lay claim to a record of her own, as well. In the 400 individual medley, Ederaine finished in 23rd place with a time of 4:46.40, breaking the previous Lady Bison record by over three seconds. Her teammate, Camille Dykes (Maplewood, MN) set a new personal best time in the same event while vaulting into third place all-time in the HU records with a time of 4:57.16.
Other noteworthy performances included Douglas' personal record in the 100 backstroke. Her time of 1:01.14 vaulted her into fourth place in Howard history and placed her 31st overall in the competition. Brewer set a personal record in the 200 freestyle with a preliminary round time of 2:01.03, placing her sixth overall in Lady Bison history. The Lady Bison also posted the third fastest 200 medley relay split in the school's history. Their 8th place finish was courtesy of junior Summer Davis (Laverock, PA,) Dillon, Ederaine, and Douglas at a time of 1:51.38.
The men's side was filled with top ten performances as well as the best individual places for the Bison. The Bison were led by freshmen Dexter Brown (Pearland, TX) and Benjamin Skelding (Palmdale, CA.) Brown recorded the highest finish in the competition for the Bison with his performance in the 100 breaststroke in a time of :58.26 . He and teammate Darell Hungerford (Clinton, MD), who notched a finals time of :58.78, finished seventh and eighth, respectively, for the championships while etching themselves into fourth and fifth all-time in Howard record books.
Skelding broke the school record twice in the 400 individual medley. After a fabulous performance in the morning session, Skelding improved his time with a 4:13.67, breaking the previous Bison record in the event by over four seconds. Skelding and Brown teamed with junior Zadok Isaacs (Cantaro Village, Trinidad and Tobago) and fellow freshman Miles Hector (Omaha, NE) to move their 800 freestyle relay into second place all-time in Howard history with their fourth place time of 7:06.94.
Issacs had his own record setting day in three events. While leading the 800 free relay, his split of 1:44.82 was a personal best showing and placed him fourth in the school's history. In the evening session, Isaacs won the consolation final in the 100 butterfly with a new personal best mark of :51.48, placing him in ninth for the competition and third in Bison history. Later in the evening, Isaacs' :53.31 time in the 100 backstroke blasted him into second all-time at Howard in the event and placed in 14th for the championships.
Senior Steven Lott (Los Angeles, CA) and freshman Mohamed Bouzaghrane (Marrakeh, Morocco) also put in terrific performances for the Bison. Lott finished 15th overall for the competition in the 100 butterfly with season-best time of :54.33. Later in the preliminary round in the 100 backstroke, Lott's 17th place time of :56.66 was another season-best showing. Bouzaghrane dropped over 13 seconds in his 400 individual medley, finishing in 17th place with a time of 4:38.29. His time moves him into ninth in the Bison record books for the event.
The Bison will conclude the conference championships on Saturday. The preliminary rounds begin at 10AM with the finals beginning at 6PM. Follow the Bison at the CCSA Championships by visiting http://www.davidsonwildcats.com/custompages/mswim/Live/index.htm?path=wswim.
