Big Ten Men’s Championships Day 4 Prelims: Indiana Sweeps Top Seeds on Final Day

Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala/DeepBlueMedia

The 2026 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships continued with the Day 4 prelims on Saturday, Feb. 28, in Madison, Wisconsin.

The events on the docket are the 200 IM, 100 freestyle, 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke.

Here is a look at what happened on Saturday morning:

Big Ten Men’s 200 IM

Indiana and Michigan each put three into the top eight in the 200 IM as both teams are looking to finish strong on the final day.

Indiana senior Owen McDonald claimed the top seed in a pool-record 1:41.23. Freshman Josh Bey took the third spot in 1:41.72, while junior Toby Barnett took the eighth spot in 1:42.44.

Michigan’s Colin Geer took the fourth seed in 1:41.76. Senior Eitan Ben-Shitrit was sixth and freshman Luka Mladenovic was seventh (1:42.40).

Meanwhile, Ohio State senior Tristan Jankovics took the second seed in 1:41.57 and Northwestern sophomore Joshua Staples took the fifth spot in 1:41.83.

Event 15  Men 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 1:39.89  2/27/2025 Owen McDonald, IND
         Pool: # 1:43.46  2/26/2026 Lorne Wigginton, Michigan
                 1:44.13  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 McDonald, Owen   SR Indiana           1:40.90    1:41.23#qA     
    r:+0.64  21.88        46.37 (24.49)
        1:16.35 (29.98)     1:41.23 (24.88)
  2 Jankovics, Tris  SR Ohio State        1:43.43    1:41.57#qA     
    r:+0.68  22.22        47.46 (25.24)
        1:16.86 (29.40)     1:41.57 (24.71)
  3 Bey, Josh        FR Indiana           1:44.61    1:41.72#qA     
    r:+0.69  22.54        47.90 (25.36)
        1:16.98 (29.08)     1:41.72 (24.74)
  4 Geer, Colin      JR Michigan          1:45.06    1:41.76#qA     
    r:+0.67  21.94        46.67 (24.73)
        1:16.60 (29.93)     1:41.76 (25.16)
  5 Staples, Joshua  SO Northwestern      1:42.45    1:41.83#qA     
    r:+0.74  22.76        48.26 (25.50)
        1:17.06 (28.80)     1:41.83 (24.77)
  6 Ben-Shitrit, Ei  SR Michigan          1:44.10    1:42.39#qA     
    r:+0.62  22.29        46.97 (24.68)
        1:17.42 (30.45)     1:42.39 (24.97)
  7 Mladenovic, Luk  FR Michigan          1:43.37    1:42.40#qA     
    r:+0.71  21.89        47.86 (25.97)
        1:18.15 (30.29)     1:42.40 (24.25)
  8 Barnett, Toby    JR Indiana           1:44.58    1:42.44#qA     
    r:+0.66  22.85        48.77 (25.92)
        1:17.38 (28.61)     1:42.44 (25.06)
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
  9 Cakir, Noah      FR Indiana           1:44.07    1:42.47#qA     
    r:+0.67  22.59        48.55 (25.96)
        1:17.33 (28.78)     1:42.47 (25.14)
 10 Oktar, Sanberk   JR Southern Cal      1:42.87    1:42.78#qA     
    r:+0.73  22.24        47.05 (24.81)
        1:17.28 (30.23)     1:42.78 (25.50)
 11 Bittner, Matthe  SR Penn St           1:43.55    1:44.28 q      
    r:+0.62  21.70        46.87 (25.17)
        1:18.30 (31.43)     1:44.28 (25.98)
 12 Doyle, John      5Y Northwestern      1:44.36    1:44.64 q      
    r:+0.64  22.61        48.79 (26.18)
        1:18.78 (29.99)     1:44.64 (25.86)
 13 Mackesy, Evan    SO Purdue            1:45.06    1:44.84 q      
    r:+0.65  22.44        48.71 (26.27)
        1:19.55 (30.84)     1:44.84 (25.29)
 13 Polyak, Joe      SO Minnesota         1:46.65    1:44.84 q      
    r:+0.71  23.21        49.34 (26.13)
        1:19.35 (30.01)     1:44.84 (25.49)
 15 Morgan, Keller   JR Southern Cal      1:45.60    1:45.49 q      
    r:+0.68  23.24        50.33 (27.09)
        1:20.34 (30.01)     1:45.49 (25.15)
 16 Watson, John     JR Minnesota         1:47.19    1:45.56 q      
    r:+0.75  23.00        49.61 (26.61)
        1:20.04 (30.43)     1:45.56 (25.52)

Big Ten Men’s 100 Freestyle

Indiana grabbed another top seed as junior Mikkel Lee sprinted to the top seed in the 100 freestyle, clocking a 42.11 to break the pool record.

Just one hundredth of a second back was Northwestern junior Caden Duncan, who was second in 42.12 heading into finals.

Meanwhile, Indiana’s Dylan Smiley took the third seed in 42.15, a big possibility of points for the Hoosiers.

Northwestern junior Stuart Seymour took the fourth seed in 42.18, followed by Michigan’s Ole Eidam (42.23), OSU’s Tomas Navikonis (42.44), Michigan freshman Antoine Sauve (42.68) and Wisconsin’s Ben Wiegand (42.80).

Event 17  Men 100 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 41.38  2/25/2023 Ruslan Gaziev, Ohio St
         Pool: # 42.55  2025      Caden Duncan, NU
                 42.55  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Lee, Mikkel      JR Indiana             41.96      42.11#qA     
     r:+0.65  9.48        20.14 (10.66)
          31.07 (10.93)       42.11 (11.04)
  2 Duncan, Caden    JR Northwestern        42.31      42.12#qA     
     r:+0.72  9.82        20.39 (10.57)
          31.34 (10.95)       42.12 (10.78)
  3 Smiley, Dylan    JR Indiana             41.59      42.15#qA     
     r:+0.66  9.54        20.03 (10.49)
          31.16 (11.13)       42.15 (10.99)
  4 Seymour, Stuart  JR Northwestern        42.37      42.18#qA     
     r:+0.64  9.67        20.28 (10.61)
          31.40 (11.12)       42.18 (10.78)
  5 Eidam, Ole       SO Michigan            42.50      42.23#qA     
     r:+0.62  9.46        20.14 (10.68)
          31.25 (11.11)       42.23 (10.98)
  6 Navikonis, Toma  SR Ohio State          42.59      42.44#qA     
     r:+0.71  9.80        20.67 (10.87)
          31.66 (10.99)       42.44 (10.78)
  7 Sauve, Antoine   FR Michigan            42.16      42.68 q      
     r:+0.70  9.82        20.73 (10.91)
          31.78 (11.05)       42.68 (10.90)
  8 Wiegand, Ben     5Y Wisconsin           43.07      42.80 q      
     r:+0.66  9.52        20.26 (10.74)
          31.59 (11.33)       42.80 (11.21)
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
  9 Fentress, Evan   SR Ohio State          44.19      42.83 q      
     r:+0.68  9.81        20.65 (10.84)
          31.84 (11.19)       42.83 (10.99)
 10 Sogaard-Anderse  SO Southern Cal        42.51      42.88 q      
     r:+0.64  9.61        20.37 (10.76)
          31.53 (11.16)       42.88 (11.35)
 11 Carlbaum, Vidar  SO Indiana             42.81      42.94 q      
     r:+0.67  9.64        20.48 (10.84)
          31.68 (11.20)       42.94 (11.26)
 12 Kim, Tylor       JR Penn St             42.94      42.98 q      
     r:+0.67  9.61        20.46 (10.85)
          31.75 (11.29)       42.98 (11.23)
 12 Dzirkalis, Jani  FR Purdue              43.24      42.98 q      
     r:+0.63  9.57        20.16 (10.59)
          31.54 (11.38)       42.98 (11.44)
 14 Hanson, Rasmus   SR Ohio State          43.63      43.01 q      
     r:+0.69  9.75        20.74 (10.99)
          31.96 (11.22)       43.01 (11.05)
 14 Klinge, Matthew  SO Ohio State          42.93      43.01 q      
     r:+0.75  9.83        20.40 (10.57)
          31.69 (11.29)       43.01 (11.32)
 16 Ismail, Ahmed    SO Ohio State          42.45      43.12 q      
    r:+0.74  10.01        21.01 (11.00)
          32.29 (11.28)       43.12 (10.83)

Big Ten Men’s 200 Butterfly

Another top seed for the Hoosiers as Raekwon Noel raced to the top seed in the 200 butterfly, going a sub 1:40 with a swim of 1:39.97.

Michigan junior Colin Geer took the second seed, just behind in 1:40.09.

USC junior Michel Chmielweksi grabbed the third spot in 1:40.84, followed by Wisconsin’s Dominik Mark Torok (1:40.97), Michigan senior Tyler Ray (1:41.26), Wisconsin’s Enzo Solitario (1:41.33), Minnesota’s Jacob Johnson (1:41.42) and Indiana junior Aaron Shackell (1:42.49).

Event 18  Men 200 Yard Butterfly
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 1:39.22  3/5/2021  Brendan A Burns, Indiana
         Pool: # 1:41.70  2024      Jacob Johnson, MINN
                 1:43.79  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Noel, Raekwon N  SO Indiana           1:41.14    1:39.97#qA     
    r:+0.71  22.71        48.24 (25.53)
        1:13.72 (25.48)     1:39.97 (26.25)
  2 Geer, Colin      JR Michigan          1:43.08    1:40.09#qA     
    r:+0.65  22.24        47.30 (25.06)
        1:13.30 (26.00)     1:40.09 (26.79)
  3 Chmielewski, Mi  JR Southern Cal      1:40.91    1:40.84#qA     
    r:+0.67  23.24        49.60 (26.36)
        1:15.96 (26.36)     1:40.84 (24.88)
  4 Mark Torok, Dom  SR Wisconsin         1:40.07    1:40.97#qA     
    r:+0.67  22.88        48.52 (25.64)
        1:14.34 (25.82)     1:40.97 (26.63)
  5 Ray, Tyler       SR Michigan          1:39.60    1:41.26#qA     
    r:+0.71  22.27        47.83 (25.56)
        1:14.11 (26.28)     1:41.26 (27.15)
  6 Solitario, Enzo  FR Wisconsin         1:41.69    1:41.33#qA     
    r:+0.74  23.25        49.23 (25.98)
        1:15.36 (26.13)     1:41.33 (25.97)
  7 Johnson, Jacob   SO Minnesota         1:41.10    1:41.42#qA     
    r:+0.66  22.45        48.47 (26.02)
        1:14.73 (26.26)     1:41.42 (26.69)
  8 Shackell, Aaron  JR Indiana           1:43.94    1:42.49 qA     
    r:+0.70  22.67        48.26 (25.59)
        1:14.81 (26.55)     1:42.49 (27.68)
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
  9 Nosack, Diego    JR Northwestern      1:43.31    1:42.75 qA     
    r:+0.68  23.29        49.63 (26.34)
        1:16.06 (26.43)     1:42.75 (26.69)
 10 Balbi, Diego     SO Southern Cal      1:43.82    1:43.10 qA     
    r:+0.68  23.07        49.16 (26.09)
        1:15.82 (26.66)     1:43.10 (27.28)
 11 Chmielewski, Kr  JR Southern Cal      1:39.81    1:43.19 qA     
    r:+0.66  23.06        49.37 (26.31)
        1:16.16 (26.79)     1:43.19 (27.03)
 12 Hooper-Haviland  FR Purdue            1:43.93    1:43.60 qA     
    r:+0.64  23.27        49.02 (25.75)
        1:15.66 (26.64)     1:43.60 (27.94)
 13 Shackell, Andre  FR Indiana           1:41.26    1:43.90 q      
    r:+0.66  22.67        48.54 (25.87)
        1:15.80 (27.26)     1:43.90 (28.10)
 14 Eichel, Daniel   SO Minnesota         1:46.32    1:44.29 q      
    r:+0.76  23.53        49.99 (26.46)
        1:16.73 (26.74)     1:44.29 (27.56)
 15 Jones, Charlie   SR Wisconsin         1:42.81    1:44.33 q      
    r:+0.68  23.08        49.31 (26.23)
        1:16.17 (26.86)     1:44.33 (28.16)
 16 Vilchez, Jordi   SO Ohio State        1:44.73    1:44.69 q      
    r:+0.75  23.63        50.03 (26.40)
        1:17.11 (27.08)     1:44.69 (27.58)

Big Ten Men’s 200 Backstroke

Indiana senior Kai Van Westering and sophomore Mira Knedla took the top two seeds in the 200 back.

Van Westering took the top seed in 1:39.21, just seven hundredths of a second ahead of Knedla.

Northwestern junior David Gerchik took the third spot in 1;39.47, ahead of OSU’s Cornelius Jahn (1:40.04), Northwestern’s Oliver Kos (1:40.16), Purdue’s Blake Rowe (1:40.45), Penn State’s Cooper Morley (1:40.91) and Wisconsin’s Nathan Welker (1:40.94).

Event 19  Men 200 Yard Backstroke
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 1:37.15  3/1/2025  Owen McDonald, Indiana
         Pool: # 1:41.82  2021      Manu Martos Bacarizo, NU
                 1:42.14  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Van Westering,   SR Indiana           1:42.49    1:39.21#qA     
    r:+1.10  23.33        48.40 (25.07)
        1:13.73 (25.33)     1:39.21 (25.48)
  2 Knedla, Mira     SO Indiana           1:39.91    1:39.28#qA     
    r:+1.09  22.80        47.64 (24.84)
        1:13.56 (25.92)     1:39.28 (25.72)
  3 Gerchik, David   JR Northwestern      1:40.53    1:39.47#qA     
    r:+0.90  23.42        48.61 (25.19)
        1:14.09 (25.48)     1:39.47 (25.38)
  4 Jahn, Cornelius  SO Ohio State        1:41.52    1:40.04#qA     
             23.36        48.32 (24.96)
        1:14.06 (25.74)     1:40.04 (25.98)
  5 Kos, Oliver      SO Northwestern      1:41.79    1:40.16#qA     
             23.01        48.46 (25.45)
        1:14.21 (25.75)     1:40.16 (25.95)
  6 Rowe, Blake      SO Purdue            1:41.43    1:40.45#qA     
             23.46        48.86 (25.40)
        1:14.53 (25.67)     1:40.45 (25.92)
  7 Morley, Cooper   SR Penn St           1:40.18    1:40.91#qA     
    r:+0.81  23.76        48.85 (25.09)
        1:14.08 (25.23)     1:40.91 (26.83)
  8 Welker, Nathan   JR Wisconsin         1:42.55    1:40.94#qA     
    r:+0.89  23.36        48.31 (24.95)
        1:14.27 (25.96)     1:40.94 (26.67)
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
  9 Graham, Adam     FR Wisconsin         1:41.07    1:41.01#qA     
             23.61        49.02 (25.41)
        1:14.88 (25.86)     1:41.01 (26.13)
 10 Steffen, Ian     JR Minnesota         1:45.16    1:41.43#qA     
    r:+0.97  23.32        48.70 (25.38)
        1:14.88 (26.18)     1:41.43 (26.55)
 11 Wilkening, Jack  SR Michigan          1:43.37    1:41.54#qA     
             22.89        47.97 (25.08)
        1:14.08 (26.11)     1:41.54 (27.46)
 12 Danziger, Inbar  SO Michigan          1:45.32    1:41.59#qA     
             23.71        49.21 (25.50)
        1:15.10 (25.89)     1:41.59 (26.49)
 13 Gorski, Krys     SO Ohio State        1:42.59    1:41.65#qA     
             23.27        48.36 (25.09)
        1:14.53 (26.17)     1:41.65 (27.12)
 14 Long, Michael    SR Wisconsin         1:43.08    1:41.76#qA     
             23.66        48.95 (25.29)
        1:15.15 (26.20)     1:41.76 (26.61)
 15 Burau, Dylan     JR Purdue            1:42.99    1:41.91 qA     
             24.06        50.06 (26.00)
        1:15.76 (25.70)     1:41.91 (26.15)
 16 O'Leary, Griffi  SR Southern Cal      1:42.66    1:42.04 qA     
    r:+1.02  23.84        49.21 (25.37)
        1:15.27 (26.06)     1:42.04 (26.77)

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