Big Ten Men’s Championships Day 5 Finals: Indiana Dominates with Pair of 1-2-3 Sweeps

Zalan Sarkany. Photo Courtesy Peter H. Bick

The 2026 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships continued with the Day 3 finals on Friday, Feb. 27, in Madison, Wisconsin.

The events on the docket are the 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle and 50 freestyle, followed by 3-meter diving and the 400 medley relay.

Indiana had two 1-2-3 sweeps and holds a lead heading into the final day.

  Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 8                       
 
  1. Indiana University                535   2. Michigan, University of           491
  3. Ohio State University           414.5   4. Wisconsin, University of, Madi    349
  5. Northwestern University           319   6. Purdue University                 313
  7. University of Southern Califor  291.5   8. University of Minnesota           249
  9. Pennsylvania State University     170

Here is a look at what happened on Friday night:

Big Ten Men’s 100 Backstroke

Indiana started supremely strong with a 1-2-3 finish in the backstroke. Senior Owen McDonald raced to the title with a swim of 44.52.

Sophomore Mira Knedla was second in 44.74, followed by sophomore Raekwon Noel (44.82).

Northwestern junior Stuart Seymour finished fourth in 44.86, followed by Michigan senior Jack Wilkening (45.12), USC Mikel Chmielewski (45.20), Penn State senior Matthew Bittner (45.47) and Purdue senior Alex Hotta (45.54).

 Event 9  Men 100 Yard Backstroke
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 44.28  2/27/2026 Owen McDonald, Indiana
         Pool: # 44.28  2/27/2026 Owen McDonald, Indiana
                 46.29  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 McDonald, Owen   SR Indiana             44.28      44.52 A       32  
    r:+0.91  10.69        21.68 (10.99)
          33.21 (11.53)       44.52 (11.31)
  2 Knedla, Mira     SO Indiana             44.67      44.74 A       28  
             10.34        21.55 (11.21)
          33.17 (11.62)       44.74 (11.57)
  3 Noel, Raekwon N  SO Indiana             44.88      44.82 A       27  
    r:+0.93  10.75        21.80 (11.05)
          33.39 (11.59)       44.82 (11.43)
  4 Seymour, Stuart  JR Northwestern        45.42      44.86 A       26  
             10.49        21.65 (11.16)
          33.20 (11.55)       44.86 (11.66)
  5 Wilkening, Jack  SR Michigan            44.79      45.12 A       25  
             10.41        21.54 (11.13)
          33.42 (11.88)       45.12 (11.70)
  6 Chmielewski, Mi  JR Southern Cal        45.08      45.20 A       24  
             10.80        22.04 (11.24)
          33.54 (11.50)       45.20 (11.66)
  7 Bittner, Matthe  SR Penn St             44.98      45.47 A       23  
             10.35        21.45 (11.10)
          33.27 (11.82)       45.47 (12.20)
  8 Hotta, Alex      SR Purdue              45.38      45.54 A       22  
             10.56        21.79 (11.23)
          33.69 (11.90)       45.54 (11.85)

Big Ten Men’s 200 Breaststroke

Michigan freshman Luka Mladenovic broke the meet record to win the 200 breaststroke in 1:49.34, besting the mark set by Minnesota’s Max McHugh (1:49.45) set in 2022.

After that it was three Indiana swimmers in a row as the Hoosiers continued to pile up points.

Freshman Josh Bey was second in 1:50.03, followed by fellow freshman Noah Cakir (1:50.47) and junior Toby Barnett (1:50.75).

Penn State senior Mario Lazzerini was fifth in 1:50.76, followed by Minnesota sophomore Joe Polyak (1:53.05), Wisconsin senior Dominik Mark Torok (1:53.10) and Northwestern sophomore Joshua Staples (1:54.11).

Event 10  Men 200 Yard Breaststroke
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 1:49.45  2/25/2022 Maxwell J McHugh, Minnesota
         Pool: # 1:50.59  2/27/2026 Josh Bey, Indiana
                 1:54.95  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Mladenovic, Luk  FR Michigan          1:51.40    1:49.34!A       32  
    r:+0.68  24.71        52.39 (27.68)
        1:20.77 (28.38)     1:49.34 (28.57)
  2 Bey, Josh        FR Indiana           1:50.59    1:50.03#A       28  
    r:+0.69  24.96        53.11 (28.15)
        1:21.62 (28.51)     1:50.03 (28.41)
  3 Cakir, Noah      FR Indiana           1:52.23    1:50.47#A       27  
    r:+0.69  25.41        53.29 (27.88)
        1:21.52 (28.23)     1:50.47 (28.95)
  4 Barnett, Toby    JR Indiana           1:51.59    1:50.75 A       26  
    r:+0.67  24.97        53.21 (28.24)
        1:21.50 (28.29)     1:50.75 (29.25)
  5 Lazzerini, Mari  SR Penn St           1:51.14    1:50.76 A       25  
    r:+0.67  24.84        52.72 (27.88)
        1:21.21 (28.49)     1:50.76 (29.55)
  6 Polyak, Joe      SO Minnesota         1:52.39    1:53.05 A       24  
    r:+0.70  25.00        53.33 (28.33)
        1:22.71 (29.38)     1:53.05 (30.34)
  7 Mark Torok, Dom  SR Wisconsin         1:53.06    1:53.10 A       23  
    r:+0.69  25.64        53.96 (28.32)
        1:23.22 (29.26)     1:53.10 (29.88)
  8 Staples, Joshua  SO Northwestern      1:52.93    1:54.11 A       22  
    r:+0.70  24.79        53.21 (28.42)
        1:22.97 (29.76)     1:54.11 (31.14)

Big Ten Men’s 500 Freestyle

It was another 1-2-3 finish for the Hoosiers in the 500 freestyle as Indiana is starting to pull away from Michigan and the rest of the field.

Senior Zalan Sarkany won the event in an meet-record 4:09.14. Sophomore Luke Whitlock was second in 4:09.60 and junior Aaron Shackell was third in 4:11.33.

Ohio State sophomore Jordi Vilchez took fourth in 4:11.52, followed by Michigan sophomore Lorne Wigginton (4:12.54), Wisconsin freshman Enzo Solitario (4:14.02), Minnesota sophomore Luke Brennan (4:16.36) and OSU senior Mason Edmund (4:18.79).

Event 11  Men 500 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 4:09.29  2/22/2018 Felix O Auboeck, Michigan
         Pool: # 4:10.99  2/27/2026 Zalan Sarkany, Indiana
                 4:18.07  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Sarkany, Zalan   SR Indiana           4:10.99    4:09.14!A       32  
    r:+0.68  22.34        46.93 (24.59)
        1:12.12 (25.19)     1:37.50 (25.38)
        2:03.10 (25.60)     2:28.69 (25.59)
        2:54.23 (25.54)     3:19.64 (25.41)
        3:45.02 (25.38)     4:09.14 (24.12)
  2 Whitlock, Luke   SO Indiana           4:11.67    4:09.60#A       28  
    r:+0.73  23.11        48.21 (25.10)
        1:13.52 (25.31)     1:38.99 (25.47)
        2:04.35 (25.36)     2:29.77 (25.42)
        2:55.04 (25.27)     3:20.20 (25.16)
        3:45.32 (25.12)     4:09.60 (24.28)
  3 Shackell, Aaron  JR Indiana           4:14.10    4:11.33 A       27  
    r:+0.71  22.85        47.96 (25.11)
        1:13.63 (25.67)     1:38.97 (25.34)
        2:04.50 (25.53)     2:29.87 (25.37)
        2:55.51 (25.64)     3:21.09 (25.58)
        3:46.46 (25.37)     4:11.33 (24.87)
  4 Vilchez, Jordi   SO Ohio State        4:16.57    4:11.52 A       26  
             23.29        48.37 (25.08)
        1:13.74 (25.37)     1:38.94 (25.20)
        2:04.26 (25.32)     2:29.79 (25.53)
        2:55.28 (25.49)     3:21.03 (25.75)
        3:46.72 (25.69)     4:11.52 (24.80)
  5 Wigginton, Lorn  SO Michigan          4:13.88    4:12.54 A       25  
    r:+0.66  23.06        48.30 (25.24)
        1:13.87 (25.57)     1:39.55 (25.68)
        2:05.41 (25.86)     2:31.22 (25.81)
        2:56.67 (25.45)     3:22.22 (25.55)
        3:47.72 (25.50)     4:12.54 (24.82)
  6 Solitario, Enzo  FR Wisconsin         4:14.33    4:14.02 A       24  
    r:+0.74  23.05        48.09 (25.04)
        1:13.53 (25.44)     1:39.00 (25.47)
        2:04.59 (25.59)     2:30.17 (25.58)
        2:56.05 (25.88)     3:21.80 (25.75)
        3:48.01 (26.21)     4:14.02 (26.01)
  7 Brennan, Luke    SO Minnesota         4:16.46    4:16.36 A       23  
    r:+0.76  23.94        49.60 (25.66)
        1:15.34 (25.74)     1:41.23 (25.89)
        2:07.21 (25.98)     2:33.42 (26.21)
        2:59.70 (26.28)     3:26.02 (26.32)
        3:51.43 (25.41)     4:16.36 (24.93)
  8 Edmund, Mason    SR Ohio State        4:16.64    4:18.79         22  
    r:+0.85  23.53        49.12 (25.59)
        1:14.93 (25.81)     1:40.72 (25.79)
        2:06.68 (25.96)     2:32.88 (26.20)
        2:59.54 (26.66)     3:26.28 (26.74)
        3:52.80 (26.52)     4:18.79 (25.99)

Big Ten Men’s 50 Freestyle

Indiana earned its third win of the night in the 50 freestyle as junior Mikkel Lee got to the wall in 18.98.

OSU’s Matthew Klinge was second in 19.00, followed by Michigan’s Tyler Ray (19.06) and Purdue freshman Janik Dzirkalis (19.08).

Michigan sophomore Ole Eidam was fifth at 19.16, followed by Wisconsin’s Ben Wiegand (19.21), while Wisconsin’s Cooper Scharff and Indiana’s Dylan Smiley tied for seventh at 19.27.

Event 12  Men 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 18.66  2/26/2026 Tyler Ray, Michigan
         Pool: # 18.66  2/26/2026 Tyler Ray, Michigan
                 19.43  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Lee, Mikkel      JR Indiana             19.11      18.98 A       32  
     r:+0.61  9.20         18.98 (9.78)
  2 Klinge, Matthew  SO Ohio State          18.94      19.00 A       28  
     r:+0.77  9.28         19.00 (9.72)
  3 Ray, Tyler       SR Michigan            19.00      19.06 A       27  
     r:+0.71  9.16         19.06 (9.90)
  4 Dzirkalis, Jani  FR Purdue              19.21      19.08 A       26  
     r:+0.62  9.10         19.08 (9.98)
  5 Eidam, Ole       SO Michigan            19.34      19.16 A       25  
     r:+0.61  9.28         19.16 (9.88)
  6 Wiegand, Ben     5Y Wisconsin           19.28      19.21 A       24  
     r:+0.65  9.17        19.21 (10.04)
  7 Scharff, Cooper  SR Wisconsin           19.36      19.27 A       22.5
     r:+0.62  9.24        19.27 (10.03)
  7 Smiley, Dylan    JR Indiana             19.35      19.27 A       22.5
              9.32         19.27 (9.95)

Big Ten Men’s 3-Meter Diving

Michigan freshman Emmitt Reesor won the 3-meter springboard event with a score of 398.50.

Indiana senior Maxwell Weinrich was second with 388.75, followed by Minnesota’s Andrew Bennett (388.35) and Braylon Goodno (370.65).

Event 13  Men 3 mtr Diving
==========================================================I===============
     B1G Meet: ! 540.55  2/23/2018 Steele Johnson, Purdue
                 320.00  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Reesor, Emmitt   FR Michigan           350.75     398.50 A       32  
  2 Weinrich, Maxwe  SR Indiana            341.70     388.75 A       28  
  3 Bennett, Andrew  SR Minnesota          357.35     388.35 A       27  
  4 Goodno, Braylon  SO Minnesota          327.55     370.65 A       26  
  5 Grannis, Nathan  FR Purdue             352.65     370.55 A       25  
  6 Patel, Hamish    SO Ohio State         323.45     344.65 A       24  
  7 Braitenbach, Er  FR Ohio State         327.65     337.85 A       23  
  8 Roberto, Domini  SO Ohio State         325.05     312.55         22  
 
                            === B - Final ===                            
 
  9 Higbie, Holden   SO Purdue             306.65     440.25 A       20  
 10 Wills, Tyler     SO Purdue             323.10     370.25 A       17  
 11 Sollenberger, J  SO Indiana            317.65     329.85 A       16  
 12 Goertzen, Luc    FR Southern Cal       313.65     329.05 A       15  
 13 Gosselin-paradi  SR Southern Cal       323.25     325.10 A       14  
 14 Cardenas, Julia  SO Michigan           321.90     319.10         13  
 15 Wodehouse, Alex  FR Penn St            309.25     311.55         12  
 16 Ly, Kyle         SO Northwestern       305.35     297.05         11

Live Results

 Event 8  Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
==================================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 1:14.83  2/27/2025 Michigan, University of, MICH
                          B Szabados, T Ray, C Geer, J Wilkening
         Pool: # 1:17.43  2024      Wisconsin, WISC
                          Toreppe-Ormsby, Benson, Weignad, Morris
                 1:16.23  A NCAA Qualifying
                 1:16.91  B NCAA Provisional
    School                           Seed     Finals       Points 
==================================================================================
  1 Indiana  'A'                  1:16.37    1:15.61#A       64  
     1) Lee, Mikkel JR                2) r:0.13 Smiley, Dylan JR      
     3) r:0.24 Gulledge, Travis SO    4) r:0.32 Carlbaum, Vidar SO    
     r:+1.25  9.15        18.90 (18.90)
           27.56 (8.66)       37.46 (18.56)
           46.18 (8.72)       56.34 (18.88)
         1:05.45 (9.11)     1:15.61 (19.27)
  2 Michigan  'A'                 1:16.65    1:15.71#A       56  
     1) Ray, Tyler SR                 2) r:0.26 Eidam, Ole SO         
     3) r:0.27 Geer, Colin JR         4) r:0.36 Wilkening, Jack SR    
     r:+0.66  8.96        18.66 (18.66)
           27.64 (8.98)       37.68 (19.02)
           46.90 (9.22)       56.84 (19.16)
         1:05.84 (9.00)     1:15.71 (18.87)
  3 Ohio State  'A'               1:16.56    1:15.93#A       54  
     1) Klinge, Matthew SO            2) r:0.31 Reniewicki, Ethan FR  
     3) r:0.35 Fentress, Evan SR      4) r:0.18 Hanson, Rasmus SR     
     r:+0.74  9.24        18.68 (18.68)
           27.80 (9.12)       37.93 (19.25)
           46.89 (8.96)       57.00 (19.07)
         1:05.88 (8.88)     1:15.93 (18.93)
  4 Northwestern  'A'             1:16.98    1:16.03#A       52  
     1) Schuster, Connor JR           2) r:0.14 Seymour, Stuart JR    
     3) r:0.29 Kos, Oliver SO         4) r:0.33 Duncan, Caden JR      
     r:+0.66  9.31        19.53 (19.53)
           28.22 (8.69)       38.08 (18.55)
           47.01 (8.93)       57.04 (18.96)
         1:06.02 (8.98)     1:16.03 (18.99)
  5 Purdue  'A'                   1:16.80    1:16.51#B       50  
     1) Thomas, Nathaniel JR          2) r:0.22 Dzirkalis, Janieivs FR
     3) r:0.12 Hotta, Alex SR         4) r:0.17 Burau, Dylan JR       
     r:+0.61  9.37        19.44 (19.44)
           28.11 (8.67)       38.17 (18.73)
           46.98 (8.81)       56.93 (18.76)
         1:06.08 (9.15)     1:16.51 (19.58)
  6 Wisconsin  'A'                1:17.76    1:16.78#B       48  
     1) Wiegand, Ben 5Y               2) r:0.08 Scharff, Cooper SR    
     3) r:0.16 Vainio, Luukas JR      4) r:0.20 Gaerthofner, Drew FR  
     r:+0.67  9.25        19.24 (19.24)
                              37.89 (18.65)
           46.99 (9.10)       57.38 (19.49)
         1:06.46 (9.08)     1:16.78 (19.40)
  7 Southern Cal  'A'             1:18.58    1:17.26#        46  
     1) Sogaard-Andersen, Oliver SO   2) r:0.19 Bialecki, Jan 5Y      
     3) r:0.10 Chmielewski, Michal JR 4) r:0.18 Huston, Drew 5Y       
     r:+0.62  9.50        19.61 (19.61)
                              38.70 (19.09)
           47.87 (9.17)       57.83 (19.13)
         1:06.97 (9.14)     1:17.26 (19.43)
  8 Penn St  'A'                  1:17.26    1:17.66         44  
     1) Kim, Tylor JR                 2) r:0.13 Bittner, Matthew SR   
     3) r:0.13 Lazzerini, Mariano SR  4) r:0.23 Morley, Cooper SR     
     r:+1.64  9.55        19.72 (19.72)
           28.93 (9.21)       39.08 (19.36)
           47.99 (8.91)       58.26 (19.18)
         1:07.41 (9.15)     1:17.66 (19.40)
  9 Minnesota  'A'                1:19.22    1:18.23         40  
     1) Johnson, Jacob SO             2) r:0.16 Harabagiu, Davide JR  
     3) r:0.16 Steffen, Ian JR        4) r:0.24 Slonac, Ryan JR       
     r:+0.62  9.60        19.82 (19.82)
                              39.11 (19.29)
           48.28 (9.17)       58.59 (19.48)
         1:07.90 (9.31)     1:18.23 (19.64)

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