2026 Men’s Big Ten Championships
- Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 28
- Location: Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, Madison, WI
- Defending champions: Indiana men (4x)
- Live Results (also available on Meet Mobile: “2026 Men’s B1G Championship”)
- Live Video ($): B1G+
- Championship Central – Big Ten
- Championship Central – Wisconsin
- SwimSwam’s Meet Preview
- Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin
- SwimSwam Live Recaps
- Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
- Finals: Day 1 Relays | Day 2
The Indiana men have been on fire at this year’s Big Ten Championships, and there have been meet and conference records falling left-and right this week.
We have already seen a conference record today from Indiana’s Owen McDonald in the 100 backstroke, and he will get another crack at it as the top seed in the event tonight.
Fellow Hoosier Josh Bey continued to build on his exceptional meet by picking up the top time in the 200 breaststroke prelims of 1:50.59, half-a-second ahead of the field.
Indiana picked up yet another top seed in the men’s 500 freestyle with Zalan Sarkany‘s 4:10.99 bringing him in almost a second ahead of teammate Luke Whitlock.
Rounding out the individual swimming events will be the 50 freestyle where Ohio State’s Matthew Klinge earned the top seed in 18.94 to be the only sub-19 swimmer in prelims.
The men’s 3-meter diving event will follow the swimming before the 400 medley relay wraps up the session.
MEN’S 100-YARD BACKSTROKE – Finals
- NCAA Record: 43.22, Hubert Kos (Texas) – 2025
- Big Ten Record: 43.61, Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 2023
- Big Ten Meet Record: 44.28, Owen McDonald (Indiana) – 2026
- Pool Record: 44.28, Owen McDonald (Indiana) – 2026
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 46.29
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 45.26
Final:
- Owen McDonald (Indiana) — 44.52
- Miroslav Knedla (Indiana) — 44.74
- Raekwon Noel (Indiana) — 44.82
- Stuart Seymour (Northwestern) — 44.86
- Jack Wilkening (Michigan) — 45.12
- Michal Chmielewski (USC) — 45.20
- Matthew Bittner (Penn St.) — 45.47
- Alex Hotta (Purdue) — 45.54
Owen McDonald was slightly off the 44.28 championship record he swam in prelims this morning, but 44.52 was more than enough to get the job done as he defended his 100 backstroke title from last year.
McDonald used a strong back half to get his hand on the wall first. He flipped 5th at the halfway point (21.68), then kicked into another gear. McDonald split 22.84 on the second 50, not only catching up the rest of the field but stopping the clock .18 seconds ahead of the field.
The Hoosiers swept the top three spots on the podium. Sophomores Miroslav Knedla and Raekwon Noel grabbed second and third place, with Knedla swimming 44.74 and Noel touching in 44.82. Noel’s time is a lifetime best, shaving six more hundredths off the lifetime best he swam in prelims.
Northwestern’s Stuart Seymour was the only non-Hoosier to break 44-seconds in the final. Seymour clocked 44.86, only four-hundredths behind Noel.
After leading the race at the halfway point (21.45), Penn State’s Matthew Bittner touched 7th in 45.47.
MEN’S 200-YARD BREASTSTROKE – Finals
- NCAA Record: 1:46.35, Leon Marchand (Arizona State) – 2024
- Big Ten Record: 1:48.76, Max McHugh (Minnesota) – 2022
Big Ten Meet Record: 1:49.45, Max McHugh (Minnesota) – 2022- Pool Record: 1:50.59, Josh Bey (Indiana) — 2026
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.95
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:52.89
Final:
- Luka Mladenovic (Michigan) — 1:49.34 *Meet Record, Pool Record*
- Josh Bey (Indiana) — 1:50.03
- Noah Cakir (Indiana) — 1:50.47
- Toby Barnett (Indiana) — 1:50.75
- Mariano Lazzerini (Penn State) — 1:50.76
- Joe Polyak (Minnesota) — 1:53.05
- Dominik Mark Torok (Wisconsin) — 1:53.10
- Joshua Staples (Northwestern) — 1:54.11
We got another type of sweep in the men’s 200 breaststroke but instead of a school sweeping the event, it was a class: this event belonged to the freshmen.
Michigan’s Luka Mladenovic led the way, swimming his second lifetime best of the day on the way to a sweep of the breaststroke events at this year’s conference championships. After winning the 100 breaststroke last night with a 50.69, Mladenovic followed up with a 1:49.34 200 breaststroke, breaking Max McHugh‘s championship meet record by nine-hundredths. It’s also his second Michigan team record in as many events.
The swim is a 2.06-second lifetime best for Mladenovic, improving on the 1:51.40 he swam in prelims. Mladenovic came into the meet with a 1:51.99 lifetime best.
Indiana freshman Josh Bey also had a big swim last night on the way to his 400 IM victory. This morning, Bey clocked a pool record 1:50.59 during the 200 breaststroke prelims. Mladenovic took down that mark as well as the meet record but Bey improved on his prelims time as well, swimming a 1:50.03. Bey dropped .56 seconds from his swim this morning; like Mladenovic he dropped over two seconds today as his lifetime best before today was a 1:52.51.
His Hoosier teammate Noah Cakir rounded out the freshman sweep by swimming 1:50.47, a lifetime best of his own. Though the Hoosiers did not win this event, they still flexed their strength in this event by going 2-3-4. Junior Toby Barnett added to the lifetime best party with a 1:50.75, which marks his first time sub-1:51.
MEN’S 500-YARD FREESTYLE – Finals
- NCAA Record: 4:02.31, Leon Marchand (Arizona State) – 2024
- Big Ten Record: 4:08.95, Felix Auboeck (Michigan) – 2017
Big Ten Meet Record: 4:09.29, Felix Auboeck (Michigan) – 2018Pool Record: 4:10.99, Zalan Sarkany (Indiana) — 4:10.99- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:18.07
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:14.13
Final:
- Zalan Sarkany (Indiana) — 4:09.14 *Meet and Pool Record*
- Luke Whitlock (Indiana) — 4:09.60
- Aaron Shackell (Indiana) — 4:11.33
- Jordi Vilchez (Ohio State) — 4:11.52
- Lorne Wigginton (Michigan) — 4:12.54
- Enzo Solitario (Wisconsin) — 4:14.02
- Luke Brennan (Minnesota) — 4:16.36
- Mason Edmund (Ohio State) — 4:18.79
Another event, another sweep. This time, the Hoosiers took back control, claiming the top three spots in the men’s 500 freestyle. The defending champion, Zalan Sarkany, maintained his control over the event for another year, leading Indiana’s sweep with a 4:09.14.
Last year, Sarkany won with a 4:11.62. This year, his 4:09.14 was enough for a championship record, taking down Felix Auboeck‘s mark from 2018 by .15 seconds.
Sophomore Luke Whitlock was just three-tenths behind Sarkany at the 450-yard mark. Sarkany blasted a 24.12 closing split to put more distance between him and Whitlock and touch first. Whitlock, meanwhile, claimed silver in 4:09.60, almost getting under the 4:10 mark. Whitlock was also under the pool record Sarkany swam this morning, though it won’t go on the books due to Sarkany’s winning time. Whitlock’s swim was a new lifetime best and the first sub-4:10 effort of his career.
His fellow Paris Olympian and Hoosier newcomer Aaron Shackell rounded out the podium with a 4:11.33. He was in a close race with Ohio State’s Jordi Vilchez, but was able to get his hand on the wall ahead of the Buckeye by .19 seconds. Shackell’s swim was just off the lifetime best 4:11.14 he swam at midseason.
MEN’S 50-YARD FREESTYLE – Finals
- NCAA Record: 17.63, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
- Big Ten Record: 18.66, Tyler Ray (Michigan) – 2026
- Big Ten Meet Record: 18.66, Tyler Ray (Michigan) – 2026
- Pool Record: 18.66, Tyler Ray (Michigan) – 2026
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 19.43
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 19.02
Final:
- Mikkel Lee (Indiana) — 18.98
- Matthew Klinge (Ohio State) — 19.00
- Tyler Ray (Michigan) — 19.06
- Janis Dzirkalis (Purdue) — 19.08
- Ole Eidan (Michigan) — 19.16
- Ben Wiegand (Wisconsin) — 19.21
- Cooper Scharff (Wisconsin)/Dylan Smiley (Indiana) — 19.27
- —
Last year, Mikkel Lee finished 10th in the men’s 50 freestyle at the Big Ten Championships, clocking a then lifetime best 19.07. This year, he stood atop the podium as the event winner and the only man in the championship final to go sub-19 seconds.
Lee flipped at the 25-yard mark in 4th (9.20), then split 9.78 on the way home to stop the clock in 18.98. It was the second-fastest closing split in the field after Matthew Klinge‘s 9.72. Klinge flipped in 9.28 so he did not have quite enough room to close down Lee.
Lee’s win gives Indiana three wins in four events tonight. It’s also just eight-hundredths off the lifetime best he swam leading off Indiana’s 200 freestyle relay yesterday.
Klinge led off Ohio State’s 200 freestyle relay in a lifetime best and Buckeye program record 18.68, which would’ve been more than enough for the win in this event had he gone that time tonight. That holds true for Tyler Ray as well, who led off Michigan’s 200 freestyle relay in 18.66. Instead, Ray swam a 19.06 for 3rd, adding a bronze medal to his haul this week (he won the 100 butterfly in 43.83 on Thursday evening).
Wilkening completed his double by touching second in the ‘B’ final for 10th overall. He swam a 19.34, nine-hundredths off his best. He placed 5th in the 100 backstroke earlier in the session.
Men’s 3-Meter Diving — Finals
- Big Ten Meet Record: 540.55, Steele Johnson (Purdue) — 2018
- NCAA A Qualifying: 320.00
Final:
- Emmitt Reesor (Michigan) — 398.50
- Maxwell Weinrich (Indiana) — 388.75
- Andrew Bennett (Minnesota) — 388.35
- Braylon Goodno (Minnesota) — 370.65
- Nathan Grannis (Purdue) — 370.55
- Hamish Patel (Ohio State) — 344.65
- Ernest Braitenbach (Ohio State) — 337.85
- Dom Roberto (Ohio State) — 312.55
The men’s Big Ten diving scene had some big shakeups this year, but it was still a bit of an upset to see Michigan freshman Emmitt Reesor win the 3-meter diving title. Reesor scored 398.50 points, beating Indiana senior Maxwell Weinrich and Minnesota senior Andrew Bennett by about 10 points.
It came down to .50 points between Weinrich and Bennett as the Hoosier claimed silver with 388.75 points compared to Bennett’s 288.35. Both Weinrich and Bennett moved up from their 2025 performances in this event, where they finished 7th and 8th, respectively. They were the only two men from the 2025 championship flight to return to the ‘A’ final in 2026.
Seven of the eight ‘A’ finalists scored above the 2026 NCAA ‘A’ Qualifying score.
Men’s 400 Medley Relay — Finals
- Big Ten Championship Record: 2:59.87 – Indiana University (O McDonald, F Brooks, T Frankel, M King), 2025
Pool Record: 3:07.93 – Northwestern (Gerchik, Lu, Seymour, Duncan), 2025- NCAA Qualifying Times (Qualifying/Provisional): 3:04.96/3:06.20
Final:
- Michigan (Wilkening, Mladenovic, Ray, Sauve) — 3:00.15 *Pool Record*
- Indiana (Knedla, Avakov, McDonald, Smiley) — 3:00.16
- Northwestern (Seymour, Staples, Schuster, Duncan) — 3:02.03
- Ohio State — 3:04.26
- Wisconsin — 3:05.09
- USC — 3:05.33
- Penn State — 3:06.44
- Minnesota — 3:06.61
- Purdue — 3:06.63
The men’s 400 medley relay was a thrilling way to close out night three of finals. It came down to the touch between Michigan and Indiana — the Wolverines took the win by a hundredth of a second, 3:00.15 to 3:00.16, shattering their program record in the process.
Northwestern held the lead after the backstroke leg, with Seymour swimming a 44.83 lead off. Indiana was second at the first exchange. The Hoosiers had their choice between the 100 backstroke gold and silver medalists from this session; they went with Knedla, the silver medalist, while McDonald held down the butterfly leg. Knedla clocked 44.88, while Wilkening was further back in 45.25.
Indiana held the lead after the breaststroke as Alexei Avakov‘s 50.43 split powered them ahead of Northwestern by .35 seconds. Meanwhile, Mladenovic split 50.17, the fastest breaststroke leg in the field, and pulled Michigan into second at the halfway mark.
Ray’s 43.30 100 butterfly split pulled the Wolverines into the lead. McDonald split 44.25 for Indiana, and Michgan carried about an eight-tenths lead into the freestyle leg. Indiana’s Dylan Smiley split a field-best 40.60 on the anchor. He pulled even with Michigan’s anchor, freshman Antoine Sauve, but Sauve managed to hold on and get his hand on the wall for the win.
Northwestern’s squad of Seymour, Joshua Staples (50.83), Connor Schuster (45.43), and Caden Duncan (40.94) took third in 3:02.03.
The pool record that Northwestern swam last year got absolutely crushed, with all nine teams swimming under the mark.
Team Scores Thru Day 3
- Indiana, 1061.5
- Michigan, 811
- Ohio State, 712.5
- Wisconsin, 569.5
- Purdue, 527
- Northwestern, 514
- USC, 463.5
- Minnesota, 430
- Penn State, 307
Weird seeing IU with a weak fly leg after a decade of productivity from Lanza, Burns, and Frankel
Big bro, was Burns ever on IU’s fly leg?…
Mind immediately went to the covid mickey mouse GAC year but ToMid Fraudkel was the fly leg there.
Burns was never the fly leg but the point about productivity stands
f
^
The divers are keeping MN from being dead last. Go Andrew!!!!
Nah PSU can finish last even if they don’t show up. They’ve got it covered. Never seen so much red on meet mobile.
Is Whitlock beating the forward allegations in ‘26? Looking forward to the chirp-fest 1650 between him, Zesty Z, and BDI tomorrow.
PSU is continuing its dominance tonight. Way to go, Hollie! Really earning your pay.
As a PA native, I’m embarrassed
odds the team is cut after her legendary training techniques?
Meet mobile red ink alert.
HOO – HOO – HOOSIERS!!!
Half of Indiana last year rosters graduated and yet they are still dominating…. They get 9 out of 12 top three so far and 7 of them still coming back next year
Big 10 fast but it just doesn’t feel as hype as ACC or SEC
Being a single gender meet is less exciting
Me: I want Liam Bell
Ray Looze: We have Liam Bell at IU
Liam Bell at IU: Travis Gulledge
You called?