2024 MEN’S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Dates: February 28 – March 2, 2024
- Location: McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion – Columbus, Ohio
- Defending champions: Indiana (2x)
- SCY (25 yards)
- Championship Central
- Live Results
- Live Video
It’s the first night of the 2024 Big Ten Championships and there are two relays on the schedule. The 200 medley relay will kick off the session, followed by the 800 freestyle relay.
Last year, Ohio State and Indiana split the day one relays. Ohio State touched for gold in the men’s 200 medley relay (1:23.03), before Indiana posted a new Big Ten record at the NCAA Championships (1:21.52). This year, Indiana (1:22.88) is the top entrant into the event, seeded with a time that would’ve won the 2023 Big Ten title. Indiana will have the opportunity to defend their 800 free relay title at the end of today’s session, as they are seeded 1st (6:15.55) by over three seconds.
MEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY — FINAL
- NCAA Record: 1:20.67, NC State – 2023 NCAA Championships
- Big Ten Record: 1:21.52, Indiana – 2023 NCAA Championships
- Big Ten Championship Record: 1:22.13, Ohio State – 2022 Big Ten Championships
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:23.71
Full Results:
- Indiana – 1:22.17 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
- Penn State – 1:22.93 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
- Michigan – 1:23.33 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
- Purdue – 1:24.07
- Wisconsin – 1:24.10
- Minnesota – 1:24.38
- Northwestern – 1:24.85
- Ohio State – 1:24.95
Indiana opened the 2024 Big Ten Championships with a decisive 200 medley relay win, as the quartet of Brendan Burns (20.98), Finn Brooks (22.91), Tomer Frankel (19.41), and Gavin Wight (18.87) clocked a time of 1:22.17. They narrowly missed the championship record (1:22.13) by 0.04, but did record a sizable new season best time.
With the exception of Brooks’ 22.91 split, Burns, Frankel, and Wight posted their fastest splits of the season. The split from Frankel was particularly promising, as his 19.41 time is not only a season best split, but faster than he swam on the Big Ten record-setting relay at the 2023 NCAA Championships.
Splits Comparison:
| Indiana At The 2024 Big Ten Championships | Indiana at The 2024 Wisconsin, Louisville Tri-Meet | Indiana’s School & Big Ten Record Performance At 2023 NCAAs | |
| Backstroke | Brendan Burns — 20.98 | Brendan Burns — 21.49 | Brendan Burns — 20.60 |
| Breaststroke | Finn Brooks — 22.91 | Finn Brooks — 22.62 | Van Mathias — 22.53 |
| Butterfly | Tomer Frankel — 19.41 | Tomer Frankel — 19.74 | Tomer Frankel — 19.56 |
| Freestyle | Gavin Wight — 18.87 | Gavin Wight — 19.03 | Gavin Wight — 18.83 |
| Total Time | 1:22.17 | 1:22.88 | 1:21.52 |
Penn State had an exceptional swim for 2nd place, chopping 2.61 seconds off their entry time to finish in 1:22.93. Cooper Morley (20.81), Mariano Lazzerini (23.13), Matthew Bittner (20.34), and Victor Baganha (18.65) comprised their relay, which smashed the school record by almost a full second.
Michigan stopped the clock in 1:23.33 for 3rd place, with Jack Wilkening (21.15), Brendan Fitzpatrick (23.63), Tyler Ray (19.95), and Bence Szabados (18.60) featuring on their squad. It was a season best time by almost a second for the Wolverines, who took 0.85 off their 1:24.18 prior best. The fly split from Ray is particularly promising as he continues to build through his breakout season. He split 20.35 at the George Invitational in November, so he lowered that mark by four tenths tonight.
Ohio State, who claimed the 2023 Big Ten title, finished 8th (1:24.95). They did drop 0.46 from their entry time, but were well off the 1:23.03 they posted for gold last year.
MEN’S 800 FREE RELAY — FINAL
- NCAA Record: 6:03.42, Texas – 2023 NCAA Championships
- Big Ten Record: 6:06.01, Indiana – 2018 NCAA Championships
- Big Ten Championship Record: 6:09.85, Michigan – 2014 Big Ten Championships
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 6:16.02
Full Results:
- Indiana – 6:10.86
- Ohio State – 6:12.39
- Michigan – 6:13.64
- Wisconsin – 6:16.63
- Minnesota – 6:19.49
- Northwestern – 6:21.94
- Penn State – 6:24.79
- Purdue – 6:25.31
Indiana completed their sweep of the day one relays, as Rafael Miroslaw (1:32.32), Tomer Frankel (1:32.32), Kai Van Westering (1:32.97), and Brendan Burns (1:33.25) touched in a final time of 6:10.86. They almost matched their winning time from last year to the hundredth, checking-in just 0.06 behind last year’s mark.
Ohio State showcased a massive drop from their entry time, cutting 7.52 seconds off the mark. They finished in 2nd place overall, with Tomas Navikonis (1:32.17), Alex Metzler (1:33.54), Alex Axon (1:33.21), and Tristan Jankovics (1:33.47) comprising their squad. Michigan gave them a race the whole way, with Gal Cohen Groumi (1:32.07), Eitan Ben-Shitrit (1:33.18), Ozan Kalafat (1:34.27), and Logan Zucker (1:34.12) touching just over a second back (6:13.64).
The lead-off splits from both Navikonis (OSU) and Cohen Groumi (1:32.07) represent new lifetime bests, setting them up strong for their individual events over the coming days.
Indiana, Ohio State, and Michigan all recorded NCAA ‘A’ standard times, with Wisconsin (6:16.63) touching just off the mark in 4th.
Minnesota was 5th overall, but had a record-breaking lead-off effort from Bar Soloveychik. He opened the relay in 1:33.37, a new school record in the individual 200 free.
Team Scores (After Day One)
- Indiana – 128 points
- Michigan – 108 points
- Wisconsin & Penn State – 102 points
- –
- Ohio State – 100 points
- Minnesota – 98 points
- Purdue – 96 points
- Northwestern – 94 points
Was there ever clarification as to why diver Carson Tyler was given another opportunity to redo a dive just as OSU Lyle Yost was ready to dive? Yosts name and dive had already been announced and he was asked to get off the board? Fairly certain this efffected the final outcome.
Curious since I’ve never seen this at the NCAA level.
What happened to Kevin houseman
The Israeli boys are swimming fast.
Where is Quach for Ohio State? Graduated or redshirt?
Gone.
Back in Australia
No Newmark for the badgers on either relay 🤔
I get at dual meetings needing to use your versatile swimmers in your weakest events sometimes; but the defending 200 free big10 champ not even being on the 800FRR seems odd …
Pretty obvious something is going on with him this year, didn’t just leave him off on a whim. Sure he’s ready to contribute however he can
What is with the Big Ten with their mega revenues having barely over half the conference members field men’s swimming? Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan States shame on you.
And maryland has such a good pool 😢
Exactly- UMD has no reason to not reinstate a swim and dive program.
Illinois and Nebraska barely invest in the women’s teams, they’re not about to take steps to add a men’s. We know that Iowa could easily have a men’s team as well, but they’d rather pay oversized salaries to nepo babies.
paging DP Spellman…
Iowa has a nicer pool than Maryland, and had a donor ready to pay team operations for 10 years. Barta said no. lol. Also had ten’s of millions of dollars in lawsuits, the DJK stuff, the list goes on… The department is a joke.
The thing about Maryland, is they have like 100 different jersey combination’s and give so much to their football team…. Money is there, to support OLY sports, but the NCAA just doesn’t care.
what happened with ohio state?
Bad start to the meet. Do they really not have a backstroker outside of Gaziev who could have done that leg? Already weak in breaststroke. Yikes! Buckeye Nation crumbling after last week I guess.
OSU went from 1st in the 200 medley last year to last this year, at home……ouch. Was there a slip on the backstroke start?
Came her to ask if Khouzam slipped. He was 11.03 at the 25.
Didn’t slip- watch the replay
No slip, just slow. Very, very slow. Baltes was the best leg there.