WASHINGTON (October 4, 2025) – The Howard University men's swimming & diving team delivered a competitive performance at Saturday's Battle at the Burr (BATB) IV, collecting multiple podium finishes, including two wins in a spirited dual meet against Georgetown.
 
Despite the effort, the Bison came up short, falling, 139-78, in Burr Natatorium.
 
Howard opened the afternoon with a strong showing in the 200-yard medley relay where the A relay team of Kaleb James (Durham, N.C.), Ayrton Moncur (Nassau, Bahamas), Taj Benton (Baltimore) and Daren Rodgers (Chicago) clocked a second-place time (1:32.81). The B relay followed in third (1:36.02), giving the Bison valuable early points.
 
Reigning NEC Rookie of the Week Solomon Goins (Dallas) picked up the next podium finish for Howard, placing second in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:11.50.
 
The first event win for the Bison came shortly after in the 200-yard freestyle where Mason Green (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) surged to victory with a time of 1:43.19, nearly a second and a half ahead of the nearest Hoya challenger (1:44.75).
 
In one of the most exciting sprints of the afternoon, Benton claimed second place in the 50-yard freestyle, narrowly missing the top spot with a strong 20.87 finish against a winning time of 20.60.
 
James returned to the pool for the 200-yard IM, placing third with a time of 1:56.61, while the Bison divers contributed a combined team score of 287.25 on the boards.
 
Benton came back later to deliver Howard's second victory of the day in the 100-yard butterfly, touching first at 49.02 and holding off the pool with a decisive finish.
 
In the 100-yard freestyle, the Bison stacked the podium again with Green earning second (46.43) and Ibrahima Diouf (Arlington, Va.) placing third (48.39). The top Hoya finished just ahead in 46.10, marking another tight race for first.
 
Howard continued to find points across the board as Adam Diaz (Manhattan, N.Y.) earned second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.20 and Goins added another third-place finish in the 500-yard free, coming in at 4:56.75 — less than a quarter of a second behind the runner-up (4:56.56).
 
The final individual event saw Mark Brown (Greensboro, N.C.) take second in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 58.52, just behind Georgetown's top swimmer (58.00). In the closing 200-yard freestyle relay, Howard's A team of Green, James, Rodgers and Jalen Stewart (New Castle, Del.) earned second place with a time of 1:26.02 while the B relay team came in exactly one second later (1:27.02) to round out the podium.
 
Next up, the Bison head to New Jersey to compete in the NJIT Invitational (Oct. 10–11).
 
For more information visit the official Howard Athletics website www.hubison.com.