GENEVA, Ohio (February 18, 2026) — Howard University women's swimming & diving sits atop the team standings after day two of the 2026 NEC Championships at the SPIRE Institute.
The Bison lead the seven-team field with 321 points, edging Central Connecticut State (305) and holding a sizable advantage over Wagner College (145), Saint Francis (125), LIU (117), Stonehill College (111) and Le Moyne College (111) heading into the final two days of competition.
Howard continued to stack points Wednesday night, highlighted by a second-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of
Alyssa Napier (Wilmington, Del.),
Zenya Posada (Norwalk, Conn.),
Julianna Gibson (Elk Grove, Calif.) and
Zuilda Nwaeze (Colombia, Md.) touched the wall in 7:30.35 to earn 34 team points and kept the Bison ahead in the championship race.
In the 500-yard freestyle, the Bison showcased impressive depth with three championship final scorers.
Iala Cropper (Rochester, N.Y.) finished fourth, followed by Gibson in fifth and
Kali Garcia (Altamonte, Fla.) in sixth as Howard collected 32 valuable points in the distance event to help build the team lead.
Howard returns to the pool Thursday, Feb. 19, aiming to maintain its lead and continue the pursuit of what would be the program's first NEC championship title.
For more information, visit the official Howard Athletics website at
www.hubison.com.
