WATCH: Mladenovic’s 1:49.34 200 BR, Sarkany’s 4:09.14 500 FR Meet Records & All Other Day 3 Races

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 2026 Men’s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships continued Friday night with finals of the 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle, 50 freestyle, and 400 medley relay. Race videos from the session, courtesy of Indiana Swim & Dive and the Big Ten Conference on X, and Wisconsin Swim & Dive on YouTube, are linked below. For a full written recap of the session, see the bullet points above.

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
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 46.29
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 45.26

Top 8 Finishers: 

1. Owen McDonald (Indiana) — 44.52
2. Miroslav Knedla (Indiana) — 44.74
3. Raekwon Noel (Indiana) — 44.82
4. Stuart Seymour (Northwestern) — 44.86
5. Jack Wilkening (Michigan) — 45.12
6. Michal Chmielewski (USC) — 45.20
7. Matthew Bittner (Penn St.) — 45.47
8. Alex Hotta (Purdue) — 45.54

ONE. TWO. THREE. 🥇🥈🥉

McDonald, Knedla & Noel, medalists in the @bigten 100-yard backstroke! pic.twitter.com/p3cHuXQbAo

— Indiana Swim & Dive (@IndianaSwimDive) February 27, 2026

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
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.95
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:52.89

Top 8 Finishers: 

1. Luka Mladenovic (Michigan) — 1:49.34 *Meet Record*
2. Josh Bey (Indiana) — 1:50.03
3. Noah Cakir (Indiana) — 1:50.47
4. Toby Barnett (Indiana) — 1:50.75
5. Mariano Lazzerini (Penn State) — 1:50.76
6. Joe Polyak (Minnesota) — 1:53.05
7. Dominik Mark Torok (Wisconsin) — 1:53.10
8. Joshua Staples (Northwestern) — 1:54.11

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) – 2018
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:18.07
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 4:14.13

Top 8 Finishers: 

1. Zalan Sarkany (Indiana) — 4:09.14 *Meet and Record*
2. Luke Whitlock (Indiana) — 4:09.60
3. Aaron Shackell (Indiana) — 4:11.33
4. Jordi Vilchez (Ohio State) — 4:11.52
5. Lorne Wigginton (Michigan) — 4:12.54
6. Enzo Solitario (Wisconsin) — 4:14.02
7. Luke Brennan (Minnesota) — 4:16.36
8. Mason Edmund (Ohio State) — 4:18.79

ONE. TWO. THREE. AGAIN‼️

Sárkány, Whitlock & Shackell top the podium in the 500-yard freestyle! pic.twitter.com/zz9Zw6fuNY

— Indiana Swim & Dive (@IndianaSwimDive) February 28, 2026

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
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 19.43
• 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 19.02

Top 8 Finishers: 

1. Mikkel Lee (Indiana) — 18.98
2. Matthew Klinge (Ohio State) — 19.00
3. Tyler Ray (Michigan) — 19.06
4. Janis Dzirkalis (Purdue) — 19.08
5. Ole Eidan (Michigan) — 19.16
6. Ben Wiegand (Wisconsin) — 19.21
7. Cooper Scharff (Wisconsin)/Dylan Smiley (Indiana) — 19.27
8. —

MIKKEL LEE IN THE 50 FREE‼️

Lee captures Indiana's third @bigten title of the night! pic.twitter.com/o9n01BpUB2

— Indiana Swim & Dive (@IndianaSwimDive) February 28, 2026

Men’s 400 Medley Relay — Finals