The Howard University swimming and diving teams faced the Georgetown University Hoyas at the fifth annual Battle at the Burr. On Saturday, Oct. 10, the natatorium was packed with spectators from both schools. Their cheers and the echoing music from the DJ filled the venue as swimmers delivered close races, keeping the audience out of their seats and on their feet.
Despite ultimately losing with a final score of 139-88 for the women and 160-67 for the men, the Bison fought in the pool and produced several individual achievements.
Started in 2022 by Howard Director of Swimming and Diving Nicholas Askew, Battle at the Burr has become a cornerstone sporting event at Howard. His original vision was to dramatically increase exposure to swimming among African Americans and the Bison community. He notes that seeing high-level swimmers can help dismantle generational drowning rates by inspiring the community to start taking lessons.
“African Americans drown at three times the rate as our white counterparts, and 65% of African Americans have limited or no swimming ability whatsoever,” Askew said. “That’s something we could do something about.”
This year’s crowd drew star power, including Olympic swimmers Natalie Hinds and Cullen Jones alongside Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who spoke at Howard’s commencement earlier this year.
Junior diver Jala Wilson opened the meet by taking first place in the women’s one-meter diving, securing a final score of 86.50. In the 200 yard medley relay, the team of freshman freestyler Kaliyah Hinson, senior backstroker and flyer Chanice Posada, senior freestyler and breaststroker Rhanishka Gibbs and sophomore freestyler Alyssa Napier took first place with 1:44.73.
Sophomore freestyle and distance swimmer Mia Patton beat her personal record in the women’s 1000 yard freestyle with a new time of 10:41.66, placing second overall in the event.
Freshman freestyler Victoria Williams, in her debut collegiate meet, placed second in the women’s 200 yard freestyle at 1:54.77.
“It felt amazing,” Williams, a sports medicine major from Glenside, Pennsylvania said. “Honestly I probably should’ve placed first. We have a lot more meets to come and I’m fighting.”
Williams is following her swim family’s legacy, as her brother Darien Williams was on the team and graduated in 2026. However, she said this feat does not add any pressure.
“I love having another person’s footsteps to follow and I’m hoping I could even exceed them. I’m just excited for what I can do in my next four years,” Williams said.
Additional Bison highlights for the women include Napier who took the women’s 100 yard butterfly in 56.58, sophomore freestyler Gabrielle Vickles and junior freestyler Jasmine Morgan who took second and third place in the 50 yard freestyle, and Patton securing her second runner-up finish of the meet in the 500 yard freestyle at 5:14.73.
The men’s ‘A’ relay team, consisting of sophomore breaststroker and flyer Kaleb James, sophomore breaststroker and flyer Ayrton Moncur, senior freestyler and flyer Mason Green and sophomore freestyler swimmer Arvid Farro, finished the 200 yard medley relay just 0.02 seconds behind Georgetown, placing second with a time of 1:32.03.
Freshman freestyler and flyer Alain Briggs took second place with a time of 1:44.34 in the 200 yard freestyle and Green finished the 50 yard freestyle in second place with 21.22. Moncur took second place in the 100 yard butterfly in 50.49, Farro took second in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 47.46, James took second with 53.38 in the men’s 100 yard backstroke and sophomore diver Trevor Sewell led the diving team with a score of 95.85, placing third overall.
Junior breaststroker Mark Brown ended the individual events off with a first place finish, taking the men’s 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 58.27.
“It felt great,” Brown, a psychology major from Greensboro, North Carolina said. “The past two years have been good but it’s really nice to really secure that win…I think it was a great boost for the team going into that final relay.”
Brown said that his training over the years adequately prepared him to win races like this one.
“I think just being more comfortable and trusting in my training, trusting in my coaches, trusting in my brother to the left and right,” Brown said. “We train every day [from] sun up to sundown it feels like. So just trusting in them and in my training has built that confidence over the past two to three years.”
The ‘A’ team, consisting of Williams, Hinson, Morgan and Vickles finished the 200 yard freestyle relay in 1:35.84, just 0.02 seconds behind Georgetown, producing another close race just before the men’s 200 yard freestyle relay, in which the ‘A’ team placed second in 1:25.08.
Reflecting Askew’s emphasis on community, the meet came to a close with a “Swag Surfin’” tradition with both teams and all spectators, uniting everyone regardless of the scoreboard.
Copy edited by Daryl R. Thomas Jr.
