Brady Kendall Breaks Maggie MacNeil’s Big Ten Record With 21.09 50 Freestyle

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 | Day 3

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:

1. Brady Kendall (Michigan) — 21.09 *Big Ten Record*
2. Liberty Clark (Indiana) — 21.47
3. Kristin Paegle (Indiana) — 21.57
4. Rachel Bockrath (Ohio State) — 21.78
5. Jada Duncan (UCLA) — 21.85
6. Nicole Maier (USC) / Carrie Furbee (Ohio State) — 21.93
7. –
8. Payton Flowers (Iowa) — 22.15

Brady Kendall of Michigan swam to a new Big Ten Record, touching in a 21.09 in the 50 freestyle. That broke the previous Big Ten record of a 21.17 set by Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil back in 2022 for 2nd at the NCAA Championships. Kendall also becomes the first Michigan swimmer to win the event since MacNeil won in a 21.32 back in 2022.

Kendall also broke the previous Big Ten meet record of a 21.28 set by Zhesi Li of Ohio State in 2018.

Split Comparison

Kendall was faster than MacNeil on the first 25 of the race. Kendall’s swim also marked her first individual Michigan team record as well as her first individual Big Ten title.

Kendall entered the day with a lifetime best 21.34 that she swam during midseason at the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge. Kendall entered the season with a best time of a 21.53 that she swam to win the ‘B’ final at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Kendall will look to make the NCAA ‘A’ final next month as she now moves up to sit tied for #3 in the NCAA so far this season.