Among the first signs that a special event was taking place in Howard were county police vehicles with flashing lights blocking a handful of side streets along a section of Georgia Avenue to the northwest where the university’s athletic facilities are located.
At Burr High School, meanwhile, pounding beats echoed through the sound system as students, parents, alumni and Bison supporters milled around the corridors while other guests patiently but eagerly waited in line to have their tickets scanned.
The draw, on a wet and overcast afternoon, was a swim meet against crosstown rivals Georgetown dubbed the Battle at the Burr, where an announced crowd of over 2,000 filled the seating area above the pool for the sold-out event organizers who said the organizers most named participated in a swimming competition in school history.
The late arriving set could be seen crowded through windows in the main hall hallway and in front of a VIP area called the Splash Lounge, which welcomed special guests at the two-meet season opener held in conjunction with the Howard’s Hall of Fame weekend.
One of the recruits was Nicholas Askew, the coach of the Bison men’s and women’s swim and dive teams. In addition to holding a number of records at the time of his graduation in 2000, Askew has overseen exponential growth through having the only swim and dive program at a historically black college or university.
“This is really an honest mission,” said Askew, who has spent eight seasons on the Hilltop dedicated to raising the profile of black and brown swimmers and divers in a sport where they have traditionally been underrepresented. “We don’t just take it like, ‘Okay, we’re a Division I program, and we swim, and we dive, and we go home.’
“We have a greater obligation to the community, I think. If you think of just 2 percent of US swimming and just 2 percent of NCAA swimming and diving is African American, that percentage I want to be able to increase that percentage because I think swimming is a global sport.
Askew was inaugurated during a ceremony on Friday night and honored again on Saturday after the first event of the Battle of the Burr, the women’s one meter jump. Howard won the men’s overall title 115-109 and lost the women’s 148-76.
Since Askew took over, Howard has broken more than 80 school records for both men and women. Last season, the men finished second at the Northeast Conference Championships in Geneva, Ohio, amassing 638.5 points and setting 17 school and three competition records.
Askew and his assistants were named NEC Coaching Staff of the Year during the awards ceremony, which saw the 400-strong relay team celebrate a school-record time of 2:59.46. Miles Simon swam the first leg of the relay in 44.66, the third fastest time in school history.
Simon was also the main attraction on Saturday at the facility, where his name appears on half of the 22 events listed on a plastic plaque hanging on the pool wall recognizing bison record holders. His long list of achievements includes the school record in 50 free time and one of the fastest times in the country (19.72) which he set along with all his other values last season.
“This is my first time attending a gathering like this,” Simon said of the energy at Burr. “It’s such a great experience. Our doubles meetings are usually always a hoopla, but that’s probably times 10, which is crazy. Being a part of just being on the block and knowing that there is a crowd that looks like me that has really supported me and helped me through my races.
Last year, Simon became the second swimmer in the program’s history to qualify for the US Olympic Trials. Although he specializes in the 200 medley, in which he holds the Bison record (1:49.55), Simon qualified for the 50 Free thanks in part to a turning point related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Simon stayed at his Atlanta home during the height of the pandemic, when students were learning exclusively remotely. He didn’t have the aquatic resources offered by Howard there, so he focused his attention on the 50 because Simon says the stroke is less labor-intensive to correct.
Back in Howard, the biggest cheering unfolded on Saturday during the 24th and final event of the meet, the men’s 200m free relay. With Simon swimming the lead leg, the Bison opened up a commanding lead en route to victory in 1:22.77, forcing the entire team, men and women, to dance in unison as the fans joined in.
So did the Hoyas, who waved at their opponent across the pool before members of both teams shook hands at the end of the meeting.
“This is a predominantly white sport, so we swim and we compete and do our best and show younger black kids that there’s another sport, you don’t have to play basketball, you don’t have to play football,” Simon said. “Younger black swimmers, seeing swimmers like us, will give them confidence that they can do what we can.”
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