Indiana Breaks Big Ten Championships Record in 200 Free Relay After Stunning Ohio State DQ

2024 WOMEN’S BIG TEN SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Feb. 21-24, 2024
• Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center
  • West Lafayette, Indiana
• Defending champions:
  • Women: Ohio State (4x)
• SCY (25 yards)
• Live stream (B1G+)
• Live results
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Live Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap

For the second night in a row, the Big Ten Championships saw the finals session end with a shocking disqualification from the winning relay team.

On Thursday, Indiana finished with the fastest 400 medley relay time (3:28.32) only to be disqualified for an early take-off, handing the victory (and the overall meet lead) to four-time defending champion Ohio State.

This time around, the Buckeyes returned the favor in the 200 free relay, where they were heavy favorites after sweeping the top three spots in Thursday’s individual 50 free final. The quartet of junior Teresa Ivan (21.81 leadoff), senior Kit Kat Zenick (21.53 split), senior Catherine Russo (21.63 split), and fifth-year Amy Fulmer (21.13) appeared to break their own meet record from last year (1:26.70) with a winning time of 1:26.10. However, upon review, Ohio State was disqualified for an early take-off by Russo.

Indiana seized the opportunity, stealing the 1st-place finish, accompanying 64 points, and Big Ten Championships record away from the Buckeyes with a time of 1:26.66. Sophomore Kristina Paegle posted the fastest split in the field at 21.03 to fuel the Hoosiers’ win along with junior Anna Peplowski (21.97 leadoff), fifth-year Ashley Turak (21.52 split), and sophomore Chiok Sze Yeo (22.14 split).

Impressively, even after winning the 200 free individually earlier in the session, Peplowski still returned to blaze a personal-best 21.97 on Indiana’s leadoff, lowering her previous-best 22.13 from last March.

Big Ten Championships Records, Splits Comparison

200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• NCAA record: 1:23.63, Virginia – 2024
• Big Ten record: 1:25.80, Ohio State – 2023
• Meet record: 1:26.70, Ohio State – 2023
• Pool record: 1:27.03, Louisville – 2022
• NCAA ‘A’ cut: 1:28.43
• Time to qualify for 2023 NCAAs: 1:29.20

Top 8:

1. Indiana – 1:26.66 *Big Ten Championships meet, pool record
2. Michigan – 1:26.75
3. Wisconsin – 1:28.16
4. Penn State – 1:30.14
5. Northwestern – 1:30.47
6. Minnesota – 1:30.55
7. Illinois – 1:31.05
8. Purdue – 1:31.61

Michigan’s quartet of freshman Stephanie Balduccini (22.39), sophomore Brady Kendall (21.42), senior Claire Newman (21.68), and junior Lindsay Flynn (21.26) combined for a runner-up finish in 1:26.75, also under Louisville’s previous pool record (1:27.03) from 2022. The Wolverines reached the wall exactly half a second shy of their program record (1:26.25) from 2019.

Team Scores After Day 3

1. Ohio State – 907
2. Indiana – 884
3. Michigan – 835
4. Wisconsin – 624.5
5. Minnesota – 574.5
6. Purdue – 363
7. Penn State – 305
8. Northwestern – 298.5
9. Nebraska – 296
10. Rutgers – 237.5
11. Iowa – 217
12. Illinois – 152

As expected, Ohio State leads with 907 points after a big third finals session where the team had 16 swimmers in A-finals, by far the most in the conference. However, thanks to the Buckeyes’ 200 free relay DQ, Indiana (884) and Michigan (835) are within striking distance heading into the final day of action on Saturday.