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
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- Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC*, Wisconsin
- Results: Day 1
- Recaps:
A few different first-year swimmers were making some noise on Thursday morning during the first preliminary session at the Men’s Big Ten Championships, with the competition having gotten underway Wednesday evening with a pair of timed final relays.
Kicking things off in the 500 freestyle, Indiana freshman Cooper McDonald, who isn’t on the team’s scoring roster and thus is racing as exhibition, clocked 4:15.79, which would’ve advanced him 5th into the ‘A’ final.
McDonald, who set his previous best time of 4:17.39 at the Ohio State Invitational in November, has also raced the 200 free in a time trial at Big Tens, setting a lifetime best of 1:33.40 which was quicker than one of IU’s legs on last night’s 800 free relay (Caspar Corbeau was 1:34.28 on the third leg).
If McDonald was on the scoring roster, he would’ve been sandwiched between two other freshmen in the 500 free prelim results, as Michigan’s Lorne Wigginton (4:15.72) and Northwestern’s Joshua Staples (4:15.83) qualified 4th and 5th into the final.
The swim for Wigginton lowered his best time by nearly two seconds, having previously been 4:17.51, while Staples, an Aussie native, previously had his fastest swim of the season come in October at 4:24.60.
Another first-year standout on Thursday morning was Ohio State’s Matthew Klinge, who blasted a time of 18.84 in the 50 free prelims to qualify 1st into the final, leading Buckeye teammates Daniel Baltes (18.96) and Mario McDonald (18.97) as OSU advanced 1-2-3 into tonight’s session.
Klinge, who set his previous best time of 19.25 at the Ohio State Winter Invite less than two weeks ago, took down Hunter Armstrong‘s OSU Record of 18.93 set in 2022 with the swim, and ranks #2 in the NCAA this season among freshmen, only trailing Florida’s Alex Painter who went 18.80 last week at SECs.
Klinge opened his meet on Wednesday with a 20.10 fly split on Ohio State’s 3rd-place finishing 200 medley relay.
USC first-year Diggory Dillingham also had a strong swim in the 50 free, setting a new PB of 19.24 to tie for 10th and earn a spot in the consolation final.
In the 200 IM, the lone freshman to make the ‘A’ final was Indiana’s Miroslav Knedla, who inched under his best time in 1:42.35 to advance 6th overall.
Is indiana intentionally trying to throw this meet? Good god I know Ray looze can’t handle relay cards but throwing a 200 LCM breaststroker on the 8 FRR who hasn’t had sprint free reps at a series meet in 2 years and is not in peak freestyle form is crazy
Especially when you have a plethora of 1:33 or better guys including van Westering, Cooper McDonald (who isn’t even on the scoring roster for some reason), Luke Barr, Knedla, hell I even bet Matt King can throw down better than what Corbeau did today.
Ray Looze continues to prove he can’t coach any discipline other than breaststroke
Fast times and time trials, the meet within the meet is already shaping up to be very interesting!