Brendan Burns Clocks NCAA-Leading Times in 200 Back, 200 Fly En Route to Big Ten Titles

2023 MEN’S BIG TEN SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS 

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Canham Natatorium, Ann Arbor, MI
• Defending Champions:
  • Men: Indiana (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide
• Day 4 Finals Live Recap

Indiana senior Brendan Burns took on a tough 200 back/200 fly double on Saturday night and came away with two more Big Ten titles along with a pair of NCAA-leading times.

Burns started off the session by blazing a 1:38.22 in the 200 back, completing his three-peat in the event while lowering a Big Ten Championship record that had stood since 2014 (Eric Ress, 1:38.89). Burns shaved over a second off his personal best, resetting the Hoosiers’ program record in the process.  He also took over the top time in the nation this season ahead of Georgia’s Ian Grum (1:38.84).

200 BACKSTROKE — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:35.73, Ryan Murphy (CAL) – 2016 NCAA Championships
• Big Ten Record: 1:37.58, Tyler Clary (MICH) — 2009 NCAA Championships
• Big Ten Championship Record: 1:38.89, Eric Ress (Indiana) – 2014 Big Ten Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:39.13
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:40.92

RESULTS:

1. Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 1:38.22 (Championship Record)
2. Jake Newmark (Wisconsin) – 1:40.02
3. Wyatt Davis (Michigan) – 1:40.67
4. Wes Jekel (Wisconsin) – 1:41.09
5. Thomas Watkins (Ohio State) – 1:41.69
6. Kai Van Westering (Indiana) – 1:42.30
7. Dez Sachtjen (Minnesota) – 1:42.64
8. Tyler Lu (Northwestern) – 1:43.52

Then in the 200 fly, on the back half of a brutal double, Burns clocked a 1:39.51 to take over the top time in the NCAA ahead of Arizona State sophomore Leon Marchand (1:39.57). His second individual title of the evening was more of a hard-fought battle as the reigning NCAA champion in the event had to rally past Michigan sophomore Gal Groumi (1:40.21), who captured the 100 fly earlier in the meet. Burns barely missed his own Big Ten Championship record of 1:39.22 from 2021, but he still capped off a four-peat in the event.

200 BUTTERFLY — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:37.35, Jack Conger (TEX) – 2017 NCAA Championships
• Big Ten Record: 1:38.71, Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 2022 NCAA Championships
• Big Ten Championship Record: 1:39.22, Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 2021 Big Ten Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.20
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:42.42

RESULTS:

1. Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 1:39.51
2. Gal Groumi (Michigan) – 1:40.21
3. Tomer Frankel (Indiana) – 1:40.97
4. Ben Miller (Northwestern) – 1:41.43
5. Dominik Mark Torok (Wisconsin) – 1:42.58
6. Chachi Gustafson (Ohio State) – 1:43.21
7. Constantin Bensch (Wisconsin) – 1:43.23
8. Kaiser Neverman (Minnesota) – 1:45.50

In 2021, Burns became the first Big Ten athlete to win the 200 back/200 fly double at conference championships. Now he’s achieved the feat three times, but this time feels even more impressive because both performances rank as the fastest in the nation this season.

Indiana cruised to its second Big 12 team title in a row with 1,595.5 points, well ahead of second-place Ohio State’s 1,290.5.