2025 Men’s Big Ten Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2025 MEN’S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Dates: Wednesday, February 26–Saturday, March 1
• Location: Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Defending champions: Indiana men (3x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide
• Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC*, Wisconsin
• Results: Day 1 | Day 2
• Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2

Day 3 Finals Heat Sheets

Pork tenderloin sandwiches and breaststrokers: it’s what Indiana does.

The Hoosier men enter Day 3 of the 2025 Big Ten Championships with an over-100 point lead ahead of 2nd place Michigan, and the top five qualifiers in the men’s 100 breaststroke final that should push that lead even bigger on the night.

The Hoosiers have 13 A-finalists on Friday just in swimming events, seven more than anyone else, plus their powerful diving core as they look for a Big Ten fourpeat.

Behind them is a great battle for 2nd place between arch-rivals Michigan and Ohio State. Both teams have top seeds in different events, but especially keep an eye out for Michigan junior Tyler Ray, who after setting a new Meet Record in prelims of the 100 fly is quickly become the breakout star of these championships.

USC had a better morning on Friday than they did on Thursday, and while the gap is likely to big to close for a 3rd place finish in their Big Ten, they are building momentum in a tight battle for 4th with Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Minnesota. On paper, the Trojans have a strong final day for the Big Ten schedule, so heading into Saturday with any kind of edge over those other teams will bode well for them.

Day 3 Up/Downs

Team Scores Through Day 2

1. Indiana — 526
2. Michigan — 419.5
3. Ohio State — 413
4. USC — 281
5. Wisconsin — 272
6. Northwestern — 262
7. Minnesota — 260
8. Purdue — 223.5
9. Penn State — 153

100 Butterfly — Finals

• NCAA Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Big Ten Record: 43.85 — Tomer Frankel, Indiana (2024)
• Meet Record: 44.30 – Tyler Ray, Michigan (2025)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.51
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 45.37
• 2024 Champion: Tomer Frankel, Indiana — 44.32

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Tyler Ray (MICH)- 44.28 **Championship Record**
2. Finn Brooks (IU)- 44.59
3. Tomer Frankel (IU)- 44.74
4. Colin Geer (MICH)- 45.10
5. Jacob Johnson (MINN)- 45.28
6. Braden Samuels (PUR)- 45.30
7. Michael Chmielewski (USC)- 45.44
8. Matthew Klinge (OSU)- 46.05

Michigan junior Tyler Ray continued his strong meet, winning the men’s 100 fly by just over three tenths of a second. His 44.28 was six tenths of a second faster than his previous best time of 44.74 from last March. His time was also a new Championship record, surpassing the 44.40 mark he set in prelims.

Finn Brooks took silver in his first event of the evening, coming in at 44.59 , a two tenth drop from his best time. Brooks was followed by Indiana teammate and Big 10 record holder Tomer Frankel in 44.74.

400 IM — Finals

• NCAA Record: 3:28.82 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• Big Ten Record: 3:35.98 — Tyler Clary, Michigan (2009)
• Meet Record: 3:38.03 — Tyler Clary, Michigan (2009)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:38.37
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 3:42.93
• 2024 Champion: Dominik Mark Torok, Wisconsin — 3:41.69

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Tristan Jankovics (OSU)- 3:35.51 **New Meet and Championship Record**
2. Lorne Wigginton (MICH)- 3:39.76
3. Krzysztof Chmielewski (USC)- 3:40.57
4. Dominik Mark Torok (WISC)- 3:40.59
5. Diego Nosack (NU)- 3:42.70
6. Ryan Healy (MICH)- 3:42.85
7. Zalan Sarkany (IU)- 3:43.36
8. William Bansberg (OSU)- 3:48.60

Tristan Jankovics absolutely shattered the meet record, and came in almost half a second under the 16 year-old conference record in pursuit of his 400 IM win. The Ohio State junior swam 3:35.51 in the event, coming in four seconds ahead of the rest of the field. He also broke Tyler Clary‘s former record of 3:35.98 from back in 2009. This is also the 2nd fastest time in the country this season.

Lorne Wigginton, a freshman, came in 2nd at 3:39.76 for Michigan, and Krzystof Chmieleski came in third for USC, just two-hundredths ahead of fourth place finisher Dominik Mark Torok at 3:40.57 and 3:40.59, respectively.

200 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:28.81 — Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
• Big Ten Record: 1:29.63 — Blake Pieroni, Indiana (2018)
• Meet Record: 1:31.14 — Blake Pieroni, Indiana (2018)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:31.21
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 1:32.93
• 2024 Champion: Tomas Navikonis, Ohio State — 1:32.01

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Tomas Navikonis (OSU)- 1:31.01 **New Championship Record**
2. Gal Groumi (MICH)- 1:31.57
3. Rafael Miroslaw (IU)- 1:32.03
4. Eitan Ben-Shitrit (MICH)- 1:32.63
5. Christopher Morris (WISC)- 1:33.55
6. Oliver Sogaard-Andersen (USC)- 1:33.81
7. Dylan Smiley (IU)- 1:34.22
8. Luke Maurer (USC)- 1:34.33

Ohio State won their second straight event in the men’s 200 free with Tomas Navikonis touching at 1:31.01, half-a-second ahead of the rest of the heat. He broke the former 200 free meet record of 1:31.14 set back in 2018 by Blake Pieroni. This was a new best time for the junior, who had a previous best of 1:31.54. he was the only swimmer in the field to go uder the NCAA ‘A’ cut.

Michigan’s Gal Groumi finished 2nd at 1:31.57. This was a half-second off Groumi’s personal best of 1:31.07 from last year’s NCAA Championships.

Indiana’s Rafael Miroslaw rouned out the podium at 1:32.03 for third.

100 Breaststroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 49.51 — Julian Smith, Florida (2025)
• Big Ten Record: 49.69 — Ian Finnerty, Indiana (2018)
• Meet Record: 50.19 — Max McHugh, Minnesota (2021)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.02
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 51.89
• 2024 Champion: Mariano Lazzerini, Penn State — 51.08

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Finn Brooks (IU)- 49.94 **New Championship Record**
2. Brian Benzing (IU)- 50.73
3. Joshua Matheny (IU)- 50.94
4. Caspar Corbeau (IU)- 50.97
5. Jassen Yep (IU)- 51.10
6. Ozan Kalafat (MICH)- 51.53
7. Chun Ho Chan (USC)- 51.56
8. Benjamin Dillard (USC)- 52.29

Indiana won their first 100 breaststroke title since 2019 with senior Finn Brooks‘ 49.94. He also set a new meet record in the event, coming in two-tenths under the previous record of 50.14 set by Max McHugh back in 2021.

They also took the 2nd-5th places, with the next three swimmers all coming in under 51 seconds. Brian Benzing came 2nd at 50.73. Joshua Matheny finished with the bronze at 50.94. Transfer Caspar Corbeau finished 4th in 50.97. Jassen Yep was the only Hoosier over 50 seconds, touching in 51.10 for 5th.

Ozan Kalafat was the highest finishing non-Indiana swimmer coming in 6th at 51.53.

100 Backstroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• Big Ten Record: 43.61 — Brendan Burns, Indiana (2023)
• Meet Record: 44.31 — Brendan Burns, Indiana (2022)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.48
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 45.56
• 2024 Champion: Brendan Burns, Indiana — 44.62

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Owen McDonald (IU)- 44.38
2. Miroslav Knedla (IU)- 45.02
3. Stuart Seymour (NU)- 45.07
4. Luke Barr (IU)- 45.10
5. Jack Wilkening (MICH)- 45.44
6. David Gerchik (NU)- 45.54
7. Matthew Bittner (PSU)- 45.68
8. Cornelius Jahn (OSU)- 45.95

While not the same dominance as the breaststroke races, Indiana’s day 3 roar continued with a 1-2-4 finish in the men’s 100 backstroke, led by junior transfer Owen McDonald.

McDonald, already with a 200 IM title under his belt earlier in the meet, was 6th at NCAAs in this 100 backstroke last season for Arizona State. His 44.25 from prelims of that meet remains his best time.

With the top returner in the event Cooper Morley from Penn State falling to the B-Final this year (which he won in 45.91), there was a big shakeup at the top of the race. Indiana freshman Miroslaw Knedla was 2nd in 45.02, Northwestern sophomore Stuart Seymour was 3rd in 45.07, and Indiana senior Luke Barr was 4th in 45.10.

Reflective of the general rise of results in the conference, the top seven in this meet were 45.6 or better. Last year, only the top three were.

Men’s 400 Medley Relay- Finals

• NCAA Record: 2:55.66 – Florida, 2025 SEC Championships
• Big Ten Record: 2:59.09 – Indiana, 2023 NCAA Championships
• Meet Record: 3:00.94 – Indiana, 2022 Big Ten Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:04.96
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 3:06.37
• 2024 Champion: Indiana – 3:01.61

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Indiana – 2:59.87 (Meet Record)
2. Michigan – 3:02.77
3. Minnesota – 3:04.55
4. USC – 3:05.05
5. Northwestern – 3:05.57
6. Ohio State – 3:06.18
7. Wisconsin – 3:06.22
8. Penn State – 3:07.19

After wins in the 100 back and 100 fly earlier in the day, Indiana finished the day with a win in the 400 medley relay – also setting the Meet Record.

The team of Owen McDonald (44.74), Finn Brooks (49.74), Tomer Frankel (44.75), and Matt King (40.65) combined for a 2:59.87. Brooks, who won the 100 breaststroke and finished 2nd in the 100 fly earlier in the night, swam breaststroke in this event, ceding the butterfly leg to the 5th year Frankel, the Big Ten Record holder.

That is Indiana’s 10th-straight Big Ten title in the 400 medley relay.

Michigan finished 2nd about three seconds behind, and Minnesota was 3rd in 3:04.55.

Minnesota was led by a 44.76 split from freshman Jacob Johnson and earned their best Big Ten finish in this relay since 2019.

Team Standings After Day 3

1. Indiana – 1,067
2. Michigan – 784.5
3. Ohio State – 731
4. USC – 588
5. Minnesota – 512.5
6. Wisconsin – 498
7. Northwestern – 473
8. Purdue – 406.5
9. Penn State – 372.5