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 10
th-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.
