Howard Males’s Swimming & Diving Leads After Day One at NEC Championships

GENEVA, Ohio — The defending NEC Champion Howard males’s swimming & diving sits atop the leaderboard after day one of many 2026 NEC Swimming & Diving Championships on the SPIRE Institute. The Bison totaled 142 factors by six occasions to steer the sector.

Howard wasted no time setting the tone, capturing gold within the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman Kaleb James (Durham, N.C.), freshman Ayrton Moncur (Nassau, Bahamas), senior Taj Benton (Baltimore, Md.) and junior Mason Green (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) mixed for a profitable time of 1:29.12, incomes 40 workforce factors.

On the boards, the Bison positioned 4 divers within the championship last of the 1-meter occasion. Freshman Kai Lawson (Bethesda, Md.) led the best way with a fourth-place end (251.60), adopted by freshman Trevor Sewell (Decatur, Ga.) in fifth (235.95), sophomore Zion Wilson  (San Antonio, Texas) in sixth (234.25) and sophomore Bamidele Aina (Garland, Texas) in eighth (196.80). The quartet mixed for useful workforce factors to strengthen Howard’s place atop the standings.

The Bison additionally added factors within the 800-yard freestyle relay, as senior Darien Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.), sophomore Jalen Stewart (New Castle, Del.), sophomore Ibrahima Diouf (Arlington, Va.) and senior Ty Triche (Humble, Texas) positioned fourth with a time of 6:43.58.

Howard continues competitors by Feb. 20 because it appears to defend its convention crown.

For extra data, go to the official Howard Athletics web site at www.hubison.com.