The 2026 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships concluded with the Day 4 finals on Saturday, Feb. 28, in Madison, Wisconsin.
The events on the docket are the 1650 freestyle, 200 IM, 100 freestyle, 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke, plus platform diving and the 400 free relay.
Indiana was looking to seal up the conference championship and started strong.
Here is a look at what happened on Saturday night:
Big Ten Men’s 1650 Freestyle
Indiana senior started the final session for the Hoosiers in a big way with Zalan Sarkany swimming a meet record to win the 1650 free in 14:25.40.
Even bigger, it led a 1-2-3 finish with sophomore Luke Whitlock (14:31.54) and freshman Luke Ellis (14:43.01).
Michigan sophomore Lorne Wigginton took fourth in 14:46.09, ahead of OSU senior Mason Edmund (14:52.97) and Isaac Fleig (14:55.18), Minnesota sophomore Luke Brennan (14:57.89) and Michigan’s Joshua Brown (14:58.72).
Event 16 Men 1650 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
B1G Meet: ! 14:29.25 2/25/2017 Felix O Auboeck, Michigan
Pool: # 15:24.89 2026 Yigit Aslan, WISC
15:06.60 A NCAA Qualifying
Name Year School Seed Finals Points
=========================================================================
1 Sarkany, Zalan SR Indiana 14:23.85 14:25.40!A 32
r:+0.70 22.88 48.22 (25.34)
1:14.26 (26.04) 1:40.52 (26.26)
2:06.86 (26.34) 2:33.12 (26.26)
2:59.57 (26.45) 3:25.96 (26.39)
3:52.27 (26.31) 4:18.64 (26.37)
4:44.95 (26.31) 5:11.32 (26.37)
5:37.64 (26.32) 6:04.13 (26.49)
6:30.46 (26.33) 6:56.91 (26.45)
7:23.32 (26.41) 7:49.80 (26.48)
8:16.19 (26.39) 8:42.53 (26.34)
9:09.02 (26.49) 9:35.37 (26.35)
10:01.86 (26.49) 10:28.42 (26.56)
10:54.90 (26.48) 11:21.31 (26.41)
11:47.79 (26.48) 12:14.47 (26.68)
12:41.07 (26.60) 13:07.49 (26.42)
13:33.97 (26.48) 14:00.15 (26.18) 14:25.40 (25.25)
2 Whitlock, Luke SO Indiana 14:37.47 14:31.54#A 28
r:+0.72 24.15 50.40 (26.25)
1:16.76 (26.36) 1:43.27 (26.51)
2:09.67 (26.40) 2:36.05 (26.38)
3:02.52 (26.47) 3:29.23 (26.71)
3:55.69 (26.46) 4:22.13 (26.44)
4:48.59 (26.46) 5:15.07 (26.48)
5:41.50 (26.43) 6:08.00 (26.50)
6:34.51 (26.51) 7:01.08 (26.57)
7:27.71 (26.63) 7:54.09 (26.38)
8:20.54 (26.45) 8:47.01 (26.47)
9:13.38 (26.37) 9:39.88 (26.50)
10:06.40 (26.52) 10:32.88 (26.48)
10:59.38 (26.50) 11:25.87 (26.49)
11:52.65 (26.78) 12:19.46 (26.81)
12:46.24 (26.78) 13:13.12 (26.88)
13:39.83 (26.71) 14:06.29 (26.46) 14:31.54 (25.25)
3 Ellis, Luke FR Indiana 14:45.59 14:43.01#A 27
r:+0.71 24.30 50.82 (26.52)
1:17.40 (26.58) 1:44.17 (26.77)
2:11.15 (26.98) 2:38.09 (26.94)
3:05.13 (27.04) 3:32.02 (26.89)
3:58.80 (26.78) 4:25.90 (27.10)
4:52.86 (26.96) 5:19.76 (26.90)
5:46.67 (26.91) 6:13.63 (26.96)
6:40.69 (27.06) 7:07.66 (26.97)
7:34.59 (26.93) 8:01.53 (26.94)
8:28.40 (26.87) 8:55.42 (27.02)
9:22.24 (26.82) 9:49.10 (26.86)
10:16.09 (26.99) 10:42.89 (26.80)
11:09.79 (26.90) 11:36.71 (26.92)
12:03.70 (26.99) 12:30.45 (26.75)
12:57.28 (26.83) 13:24.01 (26.73)
13:50.80 (26.79) 14:17.35 (26.55) 14:43.01 (25.66)
4 Wigginton, Lorn SO Michigan NT 14:46.09#A 26
r:+0.69 24.00 51.01 (27.01)
1:17.99 (26.98) 1:45.28 (27.29)
2:12.37 (27.09) 2:39.70 (27.33)
3:07.10 (27.40) 3:34.52 (27.42)
4:01.97 (27.45) 4:29.32 (27.35)
4:56.06 (26.74) 5:22.55 (26.49)
5:49.60 (27.05) 6:16.73 (27.13)
6:43.74 (27.01) 7:10.86 (27.12)
7:37.80 (26.94) 8:04.78 (26.98)
8:31.76 (26.98) 8:58.92 (27.16)
9:25.65 (26.73) 9:52.43 (26.78)
10:19.26 (26.83) 10:46.10 (26.84)
11:12.77 (26.67) 11:39.65 (26.88)
12:06.45 (26.80) 12:33.16 (26.71)
13:00.07 (26.91) 13:26.98 (26.91)
13:53.82 (26.84) 14:20.59 (26.77) 14:46.09 (25.50)
5 Edmund, Mason SR Ohio State 14:55.97 14:52.97#A 25
r:+0.82 24.56 50.94 (26.38)
1:17.52 (26.58) 1:44.38 (26.86)
2:11.27 (26.89) 2:38.30 (27.03)
3:05.13 (26.83) 3:32.10 (26.97)
3:58.99 (26.89) 4:26.00 (27.01)
4:53.04 (27.04) 5:20.00 (26.96)
5:47.11 (27.11) 6:14.07 (26.96)
6:41.22 (27.15) 7:08.20 (26.98)
7:35.24 (27.04) 8:02.28 (27.04)
8:29.28 (27.00) 8:56.53 (27.25)
9:23.72 (27.19) 9:51.13 (27.41)
10:18.48 (27.35) 10:46.02 (27.54)
11:13.51 (27.49) 11:41.03 (27.52)
12:08.62 (27.59) 12:36.21 (27.59)
13:03.77 (27.56) 13:31.26 (27.49)
13:58.79 (27.53) 14:26.25 (27.46) 14:52.97 (26.72)
6 Fleig, Isaac FR Ohio State 14:59.64 14:55.18#A 24
r:+0.70 24.75 51.29 (26.54)
1:18.20 (26.91) 1:45.26 (27.06)
2:12.34 (27.08) 2:39.67 (27.33)
3:07.09 (27.42) 3:34.36 (27.27)
4:01.47 (27.11) 4:28.70 (27.23)
4:56.06 (27.36) 5:23.42 (27.36)
5:50.73 (27.31) 6:18.11 (27.38)
6:45.53 (27.42) 7:13.23 (27.70)
7:40.57 (27.34) 8:08.00 (27.43)
8:35.26 (27.26) 9:02.69 (27.43)
9:29.98 (27.29) 9:57.34 (27.36)
10:24.77 (27.43) 10:52.32 (27.55)
11:19.89 (27.57) 11:47.26 (27.37)
12:14.73 (27.47) 12:41.90 (27.17)
13:08.97 (27.07) 13:35.88 (26.91)
14:02.80 (26.92) 14:29.27 (26.47) 14:55.18 (25.91)
7 Brennan, Luke SO Minnesota 15:21.48 14:57.89#A 23
r:+0.74 24.29 50.25 (25.96)
1:16.61 (26.36) 1:43.16 (26.55)
2:09.72 (26.56) 2:36.41 (26.69)
3:03.33 (26.92) 3:30.52 (27.19)
3:57.81 (27.29) 4:25.27 (27.46)
4:52.46 (27.19) 5:19.65 (27.19)
5:47.10 (27.45) 6:14.42 (27.32)
6:41.57 (27.15) 7:08.95 (27.38)
7:36.37 (27.42) 8:03.85 (27.48)
8:31.36 (27.51) 8:58.79 (27.43)
9:26.33 (27.54) 9:53.86 (27.53)
10:21.61 (27.75) 10:49.31 (27.70)
11:17.20 (27.89) 11:45.21 (28.01)
12:13.24 (28.03) 12:41.15 (27.91)
13:09.05 (27.90) 13:36.89 (27.84)
14:04.47 (27.58) 14:32.08 (27.61) 14:57.89 (25.81)
8 Brown, Joshua SR Michigan 14:58.82 14:58.72#A 22
r:+0.74 24.54 51.16 (26.62)
1:18.09 (26.93) 1:45.25 (27.16)
2:12.48 (27.23) 2:39.78 (27.30)
3:07.09 (27.31) 3:34.28 (27.19)
4:01.55 (27.27) 4:28.88 (27.33)
4:56.20 (27.32) 5:23.74 (27.54)
5:51.40 (27.66) 6:18.89 (27.49)
6:46.38 (27.49) 7:13.81 (27.43)
7:40.85 (27.04) 8:08.22 (27.37)
8:35.78 (27.56) 9:03.28 (27.50)
9:30.80 (27.52) 9:58.03 (27.23)
10:25.28 (27.25) 10:52.55 (27.27)
11:20.15 (27.60) 11:47.51 (27.36)
12:14.94 (27.43) 12:42.69 (27.75)
13:10.37 (27.68) 13:38.09 (27.72)
14:05.54 (27.45) 14:32.77 (27.23) 14:58.72 (25.95)
Big Ten Men’s 200 IM
Two for two for the Hoosiers as senior Owen McDonald held off Michigan’s Colin Geer to take the 200 IM title.
McDonald got to the wall in 1:40.11, four hundredths ahead of Geer.
OSU senior Tristan Jankovics was third in 1:41.49, followed by Northwestern sophomore Joshua Staples (1:41.61), Indiana freshman Josh Bey (1:41.68), Michigan’s Luka Mladenovic (1:41.93) and Eitan Ben-Shitrit (1:42.19), and Indiana’s Toby Barnett (1:42.90).
Event 15 Men 200 Yard IM
=========================================================================
B1G Meet: ! 1:39.89 2/27/2025 Owen McDonald, IND
Pool: # 1:41.23 2/28/2026 Owen McDonald, Indiana
1:44.13 A NCAA Qualifying
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 McDonald, Owen SR Indiana 1:41.23 1:40.11#A 32
r:+0.63 21.47 45.72 (24.25)
1:16.25 (30.53) 1:40.11 (23.86)
2 Geer, Colin JR Michigan 1:41.76 1:40.15#A 28
r:+0.66 21.85 46.47 (24.62)
1:15.65 (29.18) 1:40.15 (24.50)
3 Jankovics, Tris SR Ohio State 1:41.57 1:41.49 A 27
r:+0.69 22.03 47.13 (25.10)
1:16.90 (29.77) 1:41.49 (24.59)
4 Staples, Joshua SO Northwestern 1:41.83 1:41.61 A 26
r:+0.71 22.66 48.24 (25.58)
1:16.84 (28.60) 1:41.61 (24.77)
5 Bey, Josh FR Indiana 1:41.72 1:41.68 A 25
r:+0.67 22.55 47.78 (25.23)
1:17.12 (29.34) 1:41.68 (24.56)
6 Mladenovic, Luk FR Michigan 1:42.40 1:41.93 A 24
r:+0.70 22.19 47.96 (25.77)
1:17.37 (29.41) 1:41.93 (24.56)
7 Ben-Shitrit, Ei SR Michigan 1:42.39 1:42.19 A 23
r:+0.60 22.46 47.20 (24.74)
1:17.03 (29.83) 1:42.19 (25.16)
8 Barnett, Toby JR Indiana 1:42.44 1:42.90 A 22
r:+0.68 22.85 48.87 (26.02)
1:17.68 (28.81) 1:42.90 (25.22)
Big Ten Men’s 100 Freestyle
Three in a row for the Hoosiers as junior Dylan Smiley held off a Northwestern duo to win the 100 free in less than a tenth of a second.
Smiley got to the wall in 41.81, a pool record, just ahead of Northwestern’s Stuart Seymour (41.87) and Caden Duncan (41.89).
Indiana’s Mikkel Lee finished fourth in 42.18, followed by Michigan’s Antoine Sauve (41.28) and Ole Eidam (42.23), OSU’s Tomas Navikonis (42.42) and Wisconsin’s Ben Wiegand (42.74).
Event 17 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
B1G Meet: ! 41.38 2/25/2023 Ruslan Gaziev, Ohio St
Pool: # 42.11 2/28/2026 Mikkel Lee, Indiana
42.55 A NCAA Qualifying
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Smiley, Dylan JR Indiana 42.15 41.81#A 32
r:+0.63 9.59 20.12 (10.53)
31.08 (10.96) 41.81 (10.73)
2 Seymour, Stuart JR Northwestern 42.18 41.87#A 28
r:+0.63 9.63 20.21 (10.58)
31.21 (11.00) 41.87 (10.66)
3 Duncan, Caden JR Northwestern 42.12 41.89#A 27
r:+0.69 9.58 20.08 (10.50)
30.85 (10.77) 41.89 (11.04)
4 Lee, Mikkel JR Indiana 42.11 42.17 A 26
r:+0.63 9.46 20.28 (10.82)
31.33 (11.05) 42.17 (10.84)
5 Sauve, Antoine FR Michigan 42.68 42.18 A 25
r:+0.67 9.64 20.38 (10.74)
31.38 (11.00) 42.18 (10.80)
6 Eidam, Ole SO Michigan 42.23 42.23 A 24
r:+0.62 9.48 20.06 (10.58)
31.15 (11.09) 42.23 (11.08)
7 Navikonis, Toma SR Ohio State 42.44 42.42 A 23
r:+0.71 9.70 20.42 (10.72)
31.48 (11.06) 42.42 (10.94)
8 Wiegand, Ben 5Y Wisconsin 42.80 42.74 22
r:+0.71 9.45 20.17 (10.72)
31.48 (11.31) 42.74 (11.26)
Big Ten Men’s 200 Butterfly
Michigan’s Tyler Ray snapped the Indiana win streak on Saturday night, blasting a meet record to win the 200 fly in 1:38.83.
The swim was four tenths ahead of Brendan Burns’ mark set in 2021.
Indiana’s Raekwon Noel finished second in 1:39.26i.
USC junior Michel Chmielewski took third in 1:40.19, followed by Minnesota sophomore Jacob Johnson (1:40.20), Michigan junior Colin Geer (1:40.53), Wisconsin senior Dominik Mark Torok (1:40.56), Wisconsin freshman Enzo Solitario (1:40.96) and Indiana junior Aaron Shackell (1:42.67).
Event 18 Men 200 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
B1G Meet: ! 1:39.22 3/5/2021 Brendan A Burns, Indiana
Pool: # 1:39.97 2/28/2026 Raekwon Noel Noel, Indiana
1:43.79 A NCAA Qualifying
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Ray, Tyler SR Michigan 1:41.26 1:38.82!A 32
r:+0.71 22.20 47.87 (25.67)
1:13.74 (25.87) 1:38.82 (25.08)
2 Noel, Raekwon N SO Indiana 1:39.97 1:39.26#A 28
r:+0.72 22.40 47.79 (25.39)
1:13.43 (25.64) 1:39.26 (25.83)
3 Chmielewski, Mi JR Southern Cal 1:40.84 1:40.19 A 27
r:+0.66 22.18 47.97 (25.79)
1:14.36 (26.39) 1:40.19 (25.83)
4 Johnson, Jacob SO Minnesota 1:41.42 1:40.20 A 26
r:+0.64 22.55 48.32 (25.77)
1:13.85 (25.53) 1:40.20 (26.35)
5 Geer, Colin JR Michigan 1:40.09 1:40.53 A 25
r:+0.66 22.55 47.72 (25.17)
1:13.88 (26.16) 1:40.53 (26.65)
6 Mark Torok, Dom SR Wisconsin 1:40.97 1:40.56 A 24
r:+0.66 22.93 48.78 (25.85)
1:14.33 (25.55) 1:40.56 (26.23)
7 Solitario, Enzo FR Wisconsin 1:41.33 1:40.96 A 23
r:+0.72 22.87 48.29 (25.42)
1:14.23 (25.94) 1:40.96 (26.73)
8 Shackell, Aaron JR Indiana 1:42.49 1:42.67 A 22
r:+0.76 22.71 48.93 (26.22)
1:15.46 (26.53) 1:42.67 (27.21)
Big Ten Men’s 200 Backstroke
It was back to the top of the podium for the Hoosiers as Kai Van Westering took the 200 backstroke in 1:39.19, going 1-3 with Mira Knedla (1:39.45).
OSU sophomore Cornelius Jahn took second in 1:39.40.
Northwestern sophomore Oliver Kos claimed fourth in 1:40.33, ahead of Purdue sophomore Blake Rowe (1:40.60), Northwestern junior David Gerchik (1:40.97), Wisconsin junior Nathan Welker (1:41.81) and Penn State senior Cooper Morley (1:41.96).
Event 19 Men 200 Yard Backstroke
=========================================================================
B1G Meet: ! 1:37.15 3/1/2025 Owen McDonald, Indiana
Pool: # 1:39.21 2/28/2026 Kai Van Westering, Indiana
1:42.14 A NCAA Qualifying
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Van Westering, SR Indiana 1:39.21 1:39.19#A 32
r:+1.11 23.08 47.69 (24.61)
1:13.19 (25.50) 1:39.19 (26.00)
2 Jahn, Cornelius SO Ohio State 1:40.04 1:39.40 A 28
r:+1.17 23.11 48.15 (25.04)
1:13.80 (25.65) 1:39.40 (25.60)
3 Knedla, Mira SO Indiana 1:39.28 1:39.45 A 27
22.67 47.47 (24.80)
1:13.31 (25.84) 1:39.45 (26.14)
4 Kos, Oliver SO Northwestern 1:40.16 1:40.33 A 26
23.14 48.74 (25.60)
1:14.64 (25.90) 1:40.33 (25.69)
5 Rowe, Blake SO Purdue 1:40.45 1:40.69 A 25
23.58 48.97 (25.39)
1:14.89 (25.92) 1:40.69 (25.80)
6 Gerchik, David JR Northwestern 1:39.47 1:40.97 A 24
23.76 49.62 (25.86)
1:15.72 (26.10) 1:40.97 (25.25)
7 Welker, Nathan JR Wisconsin 1:40.94 1:41.81 A 23
23.45 48.54 (25.09)
1:14.79 (26.25) 1:41.81 (27.02)
8 Morley, Cooper SR Penn St 1:40.91 1:41.96 A 22
23.74 49.06 (25.32)
1:15.20 (26.14) 1:41.96 (26.76)
