2026 WOMEN’S BIG TEN SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Dates: Wednesday, February 18–Saturday, February 21
- Location: Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, Minneapolis, MN
- Defending champions: Ohio State women (1x)
- Live Results (also available on Meet Mobile: “2026 B1G Women’s Swim & Dive Championships”)
- Live Video ($): B1G+
- Championship Central
- SwimSwam’s Meet Preview
- Teams: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin
- SwimSwam Live Recaps
- Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
- Finals: Day 1 Relays | Day 2
Team Scores After Day 2
- Michigan – 517.5 points
- Indiana – 398 points
- Ohio State – 390 points
- Wisconsin – 384 points
- USC – 296 points
- Minnesota – 290 points
- UCLA – 255 points
- Northwestern – 202 points
- Nebraska-Lincoln – 184.5 points
- Rutgers – 171.5 points
- Purdue – 164 points
- Iowa – 149 points
- Illinois – 114.5 points
- Penn State – 106 points
Thursday Ups/Mids/Downs Scoring Projection
Night three of racing has arrived in Minneapolis, and Michigan is surging to the front of the pack. The Wolverines are currently in 1st with 517.5 points, more than 100 points ahead of the field, while a tight battle has formed between Indiana in 2nd (398), Ohio State in 3rd (390), and Wisconsin in 4th (384). Friday’s finals—featuring the 100 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 50 free, and 400 medley relay—will be a big night for the Badgers, who earned seven ‘A’ final swims in prelims.
Wolverine junior Bella Sims and Wisconsin sophomore Maggie Wanezek lead the field in the 100 back after having electric prelims performances. Sims is the defending NCAA runner-up in this event, but Wanezek has been in great form this meet, splitting the fastest 50-back split in the field on the Badgers’ 200 medley relay Wednesday night (23.19).
In the 200 breast, a battle is set between top seed Brooke Corrigan, a freshman from Wisconsin who dropped a 2:07.98 in prelims, and 2nd seed Letitia Sim of Michigan. Sim’s lifetime best (2:06.52) gets her hand to the wall first on paper, though, and she has a chance here to sweep the breaststroke events after winning the 100 breast last night.
Ohio State duo Sienna Angove and Mila Nikanorov topped the 500 free heats this morning. The ‘A’ final field is incredibly tight, with seeds 1-7 separated by about three seconds. This will be an exciting rematch for four women who are repeat ‘A’ finalists from last year: Claire Tuggle, Hannah Bellard, Nikarov, and Gena Jorgenson.
As usual, the 50 free is anyone’s game, but Michigan senior Brady Kendall got the job done this morning to claim the top seed spot in 21.43. Kendall snagged 2nd place last year and will have to fend off Indiana’s Kristina Paegle, the defending champion, and Liberty Clark to get to the top of the podium.
Michigan, which has broken meet records in every relay event it’s swum so far, is seeded 1st in the 400 medley relay.
Top Seeds From Prelims:
- 100 Backstroke: Bella Sims (Michigan) — 49.67
- 200 Breaststroke: Brooke Corrigan (Wisconsin) – 2:07.98
- 500 Freestyle: Sienna Angove (Ohio State) – 4:38.60
- 50 Freestyle: Brady Kendall (Michigan) – 21.43
Stay with us for live updates below.
WOMEN’S 100-YARD BACKSTROKE – FINALS
- NCAA Record: 48.10 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
- Big Ten Record: 49.18 — Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
- Big Ten Meet Record: 49.70 — Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2020)
- 2026 NCAA cut: 52.65
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 51.68
Top 8 Finishers:
- Maggie Wanezek (Wisconsin) – 49.72
- Bella Sims (Michigan) – 49.75
- Miranda Grana (Indiana) – 51.33
- Claudia Yovanovich (UCLA) / Lexi Greenhawt (Michigan) –51.37
- –
- Alex Shackell (Indiana) –51.41
- Fay Lustria (UCLA) –51.54
- Mya Dewitt (Indiana) – 51.75
It was Sims in 1st at the 50-yard mark after she went out in 24.03, but Wanezek came home in a blistering back half to hit the wall first and win the championship title.
This was a huge swim for Wanezek, who won the ‘B’ final last year. She was within one-hundredth of the time she posted in prelims.
Indiana junior Miranda Grana had a strong middle 100 to outtouch Yovanovich and Greenhawt. Grana earned 3rd place at last year’s NCAAs where she swam her current lifetime best of 49.62.
WOMEN’S 200-YARD BREASTSTROKE – FINALS
- NCAA Record: 2:01.29 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
- Big Ten Record: 2:02.60 — Lilly King, Indiana (2018)
- Big Ten Meet Record: 2:04.03 — Lilly King, Indiana (2017)
- 2026 NCAA cut: 2:11.27
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 2:09.58
Top 8 Finishers:
- Letitia Sim (Michigan) — 2:05.24
- Brooke Corrigan (Wisconsin) — 2:07.29
- Ashley McMillan (USC) — 2:08.11
- Devon Kitchel (Michigan) — 2:08.61
- Bella Brito (USC) — 2:09.40
- Hazal Ozkan (Wisconsin) — 2:09.57
- Sarah Bennetts (UCLA) — 2:10.47
- Catherine Hughes (Wisconsin) — 2:11.00
Letitia Sim dropped a historic swim for Michigan by securing the Wolverines’ first Big Ten title in the women’s 200 breast since 2005. She held a full body length lead ahead of the field at the 100-yard mark, and pushed herself to a lifetime best time by 1.3 seconds. Her previous best, 2:06.52, was only from November.
Wisconsin freshman Brooke Corrigan has completely rewritten the Badgers’ breaststroke record book at this meet, following up her 100 breast school record-setting swim on Thursday with another program record in the 200 to earn 2nd-place. It was all about the third 50 for Corrigan, who split 32.76 to overtake USC’s Ashley McMillan and Michigan’s Devon Kitchel on the third 50 to snag 2nd place.
This was a personal best time for McMillan, who took 7th place in this event last year, by one full second. Kitchel had never been under 2:10.00 before this weekend, and crushed her lifetime best from prelims by nearly two seconds.
WOMEN’S 500-YARD FREESTYLE – FINALS
- NCAA Record: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
- Big Ten Record: 4:33.86 — Anna Peplowski, Indiana (2025)
- Big Ten Meet Record: 4:33.86 — Anna Peplowski, Indiana (2025)
- 2026 NCAA cut: 4:43.70
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:39.47
Top 8 Finishers:
- Hannah Bellard (Michigan) — 4:34.60
- Sienna Angove (Ohio State) — 4:37.44
- Gena Jorgenson (Nebraska) — 4:39.15
- Mila Nikanorov (Ohio State) — 4:39.19
- Justina Kozan (USC) — 4:39.58
- Blair Stoneburg (Wisconsin) — 4:42.18
- Emma Finlin (Ohio State) — 4:42.45
- Claire Tuggle (USC) — 4:43.05
Bellard and Angove attacked this race from the start, blasting sub-53.00 first 100s, but Bellard’s endurance set her apart, and she came within eight-tenths of a second of Anna Peplowski‘s Big Ten record from last year.
This was a lifetime best swim for Bellard, shaving one-tenth of a second off her previous fastest mark from 2024. She placed 3rd in this event last year.
Jorgenson, Nikanorov, and Kozan all lowered their prelims times and were able to crack 4:40.00. Nikanorov led the race for 3rd for most of the event, but Nebraska’s Jorgenson held nothing back at the end to overtake her with the fastest final 50 split in the field (26.92)
USC senior Kozan won the ‘B’ final in this event last year, and she came within about 1.5 seconds of her season-best from November (4:38.00) to secure 5th.
Notably, USC’s Claire Tuggle, who placed 2nd last year, finished in 8th after adding about 1.5 seconds to her prelims swim.
WOMEN’S 50-YARD FREESTYLE – FINALS
- NCAA Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024 & 2025)
Big Ten Record: 21.17 — Maggie MacNeil, Michigan (2022)Big Ten Meet Record: 21.28 — Zhesi Li, Ohio State (2018)- 2026 NCAA cut: 22.28
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 22.01
Top 8 Finishers:
- Brady Kendall (Michigan) — 21.09 *Big Ten Record*
- Liberty Clark (Indiana) — 21.47
- Kristin Paegle (Indiana) — 21.57
- Rachel Bockrath (Ohio State) — 21.78
- Jada Duncan (UCLA) — 21.85
- Nicole Maier (USC) / Carrie Furbee (Ohio State) — 21.93
- –
- Payton Flowers (Iowa) — 22.15
After chasing the 50 free title for the last three years, Michigan senior Brady Kendall secured her first-ever individual Big Ten title and team record. Kendall took 2nd in this event in 2025, 4th in 2024, and 7th in 2023.
Kendall undercut former Wolverine Maggie Macneil‘s conference record from the 2022 NCAAs by .08. She also cracked the Big Ten meet record, set by Ohio State’s Zhesi Li back in 2018. Kendall out of the gate fast, splitting the race 10.14/10.95.
Indiana freshman Liberty Clark lowered her own team record from January by .01 to snag 2nd ahead of her senior teammate Kristin Paegle.
This was also a strong swim for Ohio State’s Rachel Bockrath, who took 8th in this event last year.
WOMEN’S 3-METER DIVING – FINALS
- NCAA Record: 437.75 — Christina Loukas, Indiana (2009)
Top 8 Finishers:
- Avery Worobel (Purdue) — 364
- Elna Widerstrom (Minnesota) — 362
- Daryn Wright (Purdue) — 353.35
- Vivi Del Angel (Minnesota) — 350.15
- Lily Witte (Indiana) —323.50
- Ella Roselli (Indiana) — 317.10
- Katerina Hoffman (Rutgers) — 315.65
- Sephora Ford (Rutgers) — 229.25
Purdue sophomore Avery Worobel led a 1-3 finish for the Boilermakers. The 10-time junior national champion earned silver in this event last year and was able to edge out Minnesota’s Elna Widerstrom to secure the title. Widerstrom, a junior from Sweden, greatly improved on her 19th-place finish in this event at last season’s Big Ten Championships.
WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY – TIMED FINAL
- NCAA Record: 3:19.58 — Virginia (2025)
- Big Ten Record: 3:21.91 — Ohio State (2008)
Big Ten Meet Record: 3:26.35 — Indiana (2022)Big Ten Pool Record: 3:27.51 — Stanford (2014)- 2026 NCAA cut: 3:30.89 (3:32.51 provisional)
Top 8 Finishers:
- Michigan — 3:24.08 *Meet and Pool Record*
- Indiana — 3:26.15
- Wisconsin — 3:29.19
- UCLA — 3:29.97
- Ohio State — 3:31.08
- USC — 3:35.15
- Northwestern — 3:36.32
- Minnesota — 3:36.57
The Michigan crew of Bella Sims, Letitia Sim, and Brady Kendall built up an impressive three-second lead on the field before turning it over to anchor Stephanie Balduccini. Their performance demolished the previous Big Ten meet record by more than two seconds and crushed the pool record set by Stanford at 3:27.51 back in 2014.
Sims took out the race considerably faster than she’s swum in the individual 100 back at this meet, splitting a 49.12 to best the 49.67 she posted in prelims this morning. This was the Wolverines’ fourth consecutive relay win of the meet, and pushed their lead in team scoring to 168.5 points.
Indiana’s Alex Shackell overtook Wisconsin on the butterfly leg, and freshman Liberty Clark blasted a 45.96 on the freestyle to solidify 2nd place for the Hoosiers. Clark’s swim was the fastest 100 free split in the field by more than one second. Alongside Miranda Grana and Jonette Lagreid, they earned some important points for Indiana. Going into the relay, the Hoosiers sat in 3rd place behind Ohio State by 26.5 points, and they narrowed the gap to 20 points.
Team Scores Through Day Three:
- Michigan — 883
- Ohio State — 714.5
- Indiana — 694
- Wisconsin — 650
- USC — 516.6
- Minnesota — 489
- UCLA — 423.5
- Purdue — 301
- Northwestern — 295
- Nebraska — 277.5
Did the trojans actually swim there 200 breastroker as a backstroke leg
RIP Penn State
Hollie going to Hollie
Happy to see Michigan thriving under Bowe/Tansel combo. Always thought they were the good eggs from Ohio State coaching staff.
Is this a joke or do you not know?
I’m guessing they don’t know Tansel was fired a few weeks ago.
Michigan women are having a great meet! Hope they can swim as fast in a few weeks!
What’s with these broadcasters?
“I think we’re all really hungry for a title…and we’re ready to eat.” -Letitia Sim
lol I loved that
maybe i should wait till ncaas but michigan isnt doing much better for bella then florida was…
Go Badgers!!
This is really the quiet side story of the week. First year as head coach and Jack has these women on a great trajectory. So fun to see the excitement in Madison. It’s super early, but from the stands, it looks like a great hire.