2022 Men’s Big Ten Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2022 MEN’S B1G SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 23-26, 2022
• Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center, West Lafayette, IN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Prelims at 10AM Eastern, Finals at 5:30PM Eastern
• Defending Champions: Michigan (2x)
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Live Stream: DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4
• B1G Men’s Record Book
• 2021 Men’s B1G Champs Results
• Friday Prelims Heat Sheet
• Friday Prelims Timeline

Entering the second prelims session of the 2022 B1G Championships, the stage is set for swimmers to contest the 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, and 100 Backstroke. The prelims for the 3 meter diving event will also be held following the swimming action. 

Leading the psych sheets is Indiana junior Brendan Burns, who holds the top seed in the 100 backstroke (45.18)  after opting to scratch the 100 butterfly. He will face a tough competitor in teammate Gabriel Fantoni, who enters the second seed with a time of 45.20. With Burns scratching from the 100 butterfly, Michigan freshman Gal Cohen Groumi remains as the top seed of 45.16, placing him well ahead of the field. 

Another race to watch will be the 100 breaststroke, which features NCAA Champion Maxwell McHugh seeded well past the rest of the field. McHugh will look to challenge his own meet record of 50.19 this morning. 

Michigan senior Jared Daigle holds the top seed in the 400 IM, coming in with an entry time of 3:43.33. He’ll look to improve his 3rd place finish from last season. His teammate, Kevin Callan, will look to claim the top time in the 200 freestyle, as he currently leads the field with an entry time of 1:32.77. 

Men 100 Fly Prelims

• B1G Meet: 44.79 – Vinicius Lanza (2018)
  • A NCAA Qualifying: 44.96 
  •  B NCAA Provisional: 47.43
  • 2021 Invite Time: 46.29

Top 8: 

1. Bruno Blaskovic (IU) – 45.24
2. Tomer Frankel (IU) – 45.28
3. Alex Quach (OSU) – 45.32
4. Gabriel Fantoni (IU) -45.39
5. Victor Baganha (PSU) – 45.52
6. Gal Cohen Groumi (MICH) – 45.59
7. Braden Samuels (PUR) – 45.73
8. Federico Burdisso (NU) – 45.83

It took under 46-seconds to qualify for the A-final of the 100 butterfly as several swimmers saw big drops off of their seed times.

Indiana 5th year Bruno Blaskovic led the pack, cutting .7 off of his seed time to take the top seed in 45.24. He was closely followed by teammate Tomer Frankel, who won heat 4 in a time of 45.28, also dropping .7. Frankel, the reigning B1G Champion has been as fast as 44.91, and should push the field tonight. Indiana will have three swimmers in this final as 5th year Gabriel Fantoni saw a half second drop to take the 4th seed in 45.39.

Gal Cohen Groumi, the top seed entering the meet, touched 3rd in the final heat with a time of 45.59, taking the 6th seed for the final. He was followed by Purdue’s Braden Samuels, who claimed the 7th seed with a time of 45.73.

Notably, this event was significantly faster than last season, where it only took a 46.72 to make it back in the A-final. That time would have placed 14th this year.

Men 400 IM Prelims

• B1G Meet: 3:38.03 – Tyler Clary (2009)
  •  A NCAA Qualifying: 3:39.16
  •  B NCAA Provisional: 3:51.46
  • 2021 Invite Time: 3:45.67

Top 8:

1. Jared Daigle (MICH) -3:43.14
2. Caleb Aman (WISC) – 3:43.69
3. Michael Daly (PSU) – 3:44.35
4. Jacob Mitchell (MICH) – 3:45.92
5. Fabio Dalu (OSU) – 3:47.55
6. Brett Riley (PUR) – 3:47.60
7. Maxwell Reich (IU) – 3:48.15
8. Jonathan Edwards (OSU) – 3:48.60

Top seed entering the meet Jared Daigle maintained his ranking coming out of prelims. Daigle, the reigning bronze medalist in this event, posted a time of 3:43.14 to take lane 4 for tonight’s final. Wisconsin’s Caleb Aman, last year’s 4th place finisher, came in second overall with a time of 3:43.69.

Out of heat 4, Penn State’s Michael Daly saw a huge drop of 5 seconds off of his seed time to earn a spot in tonight’s final as the third seed. Michigan Olympian Jake Mitchell picked up the fourth seed, cutting .01 off of his season best. Ohio State’s Fabio Dalu, Indiana’s Maxwell Reich, and Ohio State’s Johnathan Edwards also saw big drops from their seed times to enter tonight’s final.

Men 200 Free Prelims

• B1G Meet: 1:31.14 – Blake Pieroni (2018)
  •  A NCAA Qualifying: 1:32.05
  •  B NCAA Provisional: 1:36.32
  • 2021 Invite Time: 1:34.04

Top 8: 

1. Jacob Newmark (WISC) – 1:33.89
2. Tomer Frankel (IU) – 1:34.01
3. Rafael Miroslaw (IU) – 1:34.05
4. Ruslan Gaziev (OSU) – 1:34.05
5. Kevin Callan (MICH) – 1:34.27
6. Bar Soloveychik (MINN) – 1:34.48
7. John Satterfield (OSU) – 1:35.61
8. Nicholas Sherman (PUR) – 1:35.73

In a tight finish, the top 4 finishers in the 200 freestyle were separated by less than .2, setting up a battle for the podium tonight during finals. Wisconsin’s Jacob Newmark claimed the top seed in a time of 1:33.89, dropping .75 from his seed time. He was followed by Indiana’s Tomer Frankel, the reigning bronze medalist in this event. Frankel has been a 1:32.98 in this event before, so he should have more room to improve tonight. Indiana’s Rafael Miroslaw and Ohio State’s Ruslan Gaziev tied for 3rd, coming in with a time of 1:34.05.

The top seed entering today’s race, Michigan Olympian Kevin Callan, placed 5th this morning with a time of 1:34.27. He’s been as fast as 1:32.63 in his career, so expect him to be in the mix for one of the top spots during finals.

Men 100 Breast Prelims

• B1G Meet: 50.19  – Maxwell McHugh (2021)
  • A NCAA Qualifying: 51.59 
  •  B NCAA Provisional: 54.27
  • 2021 Invite Time: 52.40

Top 8: 

1. William Myhre (WISC) – 52.02
2. Hudson McDaniel (OSU) -52.03
3. Maxwell McHugh (MINN) – 52.06
4. Daniel Raisanen (PSU) – 52.12
5. Josh Matheny (IU) – 52.13
6. William Chan (MICH) – 52.28
7.  Kevin Houseman (NU) – 52.59
8. Mason Hunter (MICH) – 52.87

Like the 200 freestyle, the 100 breaststroke saw a tight finish across the top 5 swimmers, all of whom were separated by about a tenth of a second. Top seed Maxwell McHugh, the reigning NCAA Champion, cruised to the third seed this morning with a time of 52.06. Given he holds the Big 10 record in 50.19, expect McHugh to be significantly faster during finals. He’ll be challenged by Wisconsin’s William Myhre and Ohio State’s Hudson McDaniel, who took the top two seeds out of prelims with times of 52.02 and 52.03, respectively. McDaniel cut over a second off of his seed time with his performance.

Indiana freshman Joshua Matheny should also be in contention tonight after posting a 52.13 to take the 5th seed. Matheny was a 51.84 coming out of high school, so he definitely has the speed to contend with the rest of the field.

Men 100 Back Prelims

• B1G Meet: 44.65 – Shane Ryan (2017)
  •  A NCAA Qualifying: 44.94
  •  B NCAA Provisional: 47.77
  • 2021 Invite Time: 46.37

Top 8:

1. Hunter Armstrong (OSU) – 44.90
2. Gabriel Fantoni (IU) – 45.34
3. Brendan Burns (IU) – 45.42
4. Jacob Steele (IU) – 45.52
5. Wesley Jekel (WISC) – 45.97
6. Desmon Sachtjen (MINN) -46.71
7. Ryan Gridley (NU) – 46.90
8. Manuel Martos Bacarizo (NU) – 46.91

Indiana claimed 3 spots in this final to contribute to a tight team race. The field was led by US Olympian Hunter Armstrong, who posted a time of 44.90, making himself the only swimmer in the field to dip under 45 seconds. Armstrong led off OSU’s 400 medley relay with a split of 44.36 last night, so he will most likely be faster in finals.

Indiana teammates Gabriel Fantoni, Brendan Burns, and Jacob Steele came in 2-3-4 to set Indiana up for a potential points jackpot during finals. Burns has been as fast as 44.43 on the 400 medley relay last night, while Fantoni has been 44.91, setting themselves up for a great race tonight. Wisconsin’s Wesley Jekel and Northwestern teammates Ryan Gridley and Manuel Martos Bacarizo round out the top 8 qualifiers. Notably, the A-final will not feature any underclassman swimmers.

Update: Originally results listed Minnesota’s Desmon Sachtjen as a DQ. However, that has since been overturned and Sachtjen will compete in tonight’s A-final as the 6th seed. As a result, Northwestern’s Andrew Zhang is now the top qualifier for the B-final.

Men 3 mtr Diving Prelims

• B1G Meet: 540.55 – Steele Johnson (2018)

Top 8: 

1. Tyler Downs (PUR) – 450.90
2. Andrew Capobianco (IU) – 446.25
3. Carson Tyler (IU) -437.00
4. Jacob Fielding (OSU) – 333.35
5. Greg Duncan (PUR) – 424.25
6. Jake Butler (MINN) – 406.65
7. Quinn Henninger (IU) – 405.60
8. Jordan Rzepka (PUR) – 387.75

US Olympian Tyler Downs led the field in his first ever Big Ten event. Downs scored a total of 450.90 points to out-score Indiana’s Andrew Capobianco total of 446.25 points.

Indiana once-again qualified the most athletes for the final, with a total of 3.