Indiana Extends Big Ten Lead on Day Three

Friday, March 1

Columbus, Ohio

5 p.m.

Indiana University

Big Ten Championships - Finals

3/1/2024 11:10:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

Results (PDF)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 5-ranked Indiana increased its lead at the 2024 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Friday (March 1) thanks to three Big Ten individual championships and 10 medals on day three of the competition.

With 996 points, IU has a 176-point lead over runner-up Michigan going into the final day of competition Saturday. The Hoosiers used 17 championship finalists and five C finalists to gain 530 points on Friday.

"What a fantastic day for Indiana swimming and diving," IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. "Our preliminaries followed by our evening session amounted to one of our finest single-day team performances during my time as coach. I am super proud of these men and can't wait for tomorrow."

Senior Brendan Burns captured his 21st-career Big Ten Championship Friday, winning his third-straight 100-yard backstroke title and IU's seventh consecutive championship in the event. Burns posted the third-fastest time in the country with an NCAA A cut 44.62, 65 hundredths faster than second place. Juniors Kai van Westering (45.89), Luke Barr (46.01) and senior Gavin Wight (46.09) finished fourth, fifth and sixth. Burns will compete in his signature "dirty double" on Saturday, the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard butterfly. He's the only Big Ten athlete to win both events in a single championships meet and could complete the feat for the fourth time Friday.

Senior Tomer Frankel medaled in both the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard freestyle, winning his second Big Ten title in the 100 fly, his first since his 2021 freshman season. Frankel set a meet record time with an NCAA A cut 44.32, beating the former record-holder – Michigan's Gal Cohen Groumi in lane three – by 28 hundredths. His time stands as the fifth-fastest time in the country this season. The NCAA bronze medalist last season, Frankel also owns the Big Ten and program record 44.04 set at the 2023 national meet as well as the three best times in program history.

With Friday's victory, Frankel became just the third Hoosier to win multiple Big Ten 100-yard butterfly titles, following in the footsteps of fellow Olympians Mike Troy (1960, 1962) and Mark Spitz (1970-72).

Frankel posted a career-best time of 1:32.78 in the 200-yard freestyle to earn his second-career medal in the event, this time a bronze. Junior Rafael Miroslaw finished in second in 1:32.03 and has now achieved each medal in the 200 free after winning the event as a freshman in 2022.

Indiana diving juniors Carson Tyler and Quinn Henninger finished first and second on the 3-meter springboard. Tyler scored a 453.90 to win his first-career 3-meter title and has now won Big Ten gold on every board. His consistency carried him through, posting scores of 78.20, 69.00, 68.20, 70.50 and back-to-back 84.00's on his final two attempts.

Henninger challenged himself with an average 3.5 degree of difficulty and started strong, scoring 85.00, 81.60 and 87.40 on his first three dives to quickly pull ahead of the pack. A 67.50 kept him in control before knocking down an 89.25 on a reverse 3 ½ somersault tuck in the fifth round. Henninger had the chance to blow away the competition with a 5156B – a 3.9 DD – but seemed to have trouble controlling his initial leap and closed his list with a 25.35. However, his early excellence kept him above everyone except his teammate, finishing with a 436.10.

Sophomore Maxwell Weinrich was Indiana's third diver in the A final, finishing sixth with a 392.05 after scoring at least 60 points on five of his attempts. Fellow second-year Dash Glasberg scored five team points for IU as a "C finalist," placing 20th in the prelim.

"I am so proud of all the men on this swimming and diving team," IU head diving coach Drew Johansen. "Watching the swimmers fill those A finals and win events this evening really sparked the divers today.

"The energy from the team in the finals was fantastic, and all three of our men showed up. Quinn dove at a world-class level today, using the hardest list in the world. He was one dive away from total domination of the field. These moments happen to all the greats, and we will be looking forward to his future opportunities.

"Carson continues to have ice in his veins. He's the triple threat, always ready to contribute to the team. The way that event ended opened a door for him to just walk right through and grab another Big Ten title for the Hoosiers. The pressure was on him on that last dive, and he delivered. One, two and six for IU tonight was fantastic! I can't wait to see what this team does tomorrow."

Indiana's quartet in the 100-yard breaststroke A final finished together in second, third, fourth and fifth. Junior Finn Brooks (51.30) led most of the way but was caught within the final 25 yards by Penn State sophomore Mariano Lazzerini, who finished in 51.08. Senior Jassen Yep (51.50) earned bronze, an improvement of two spots from a year ago, followed by junior Josh Matheny (51.69) and senior Maxwell Reich (52.18).

In a young 400-yard IM final, freshman Toby Barnett earned his first-career Big Ten medal, placing second in 3:42.49. Barnett posted a personal best 3:41.37 in prelims to earn the top seed but was out-touched by Wisconsin sophomore Dominik Mark Torok (3:41.69) Friday night. Sophomore Drew Reiter finished eighth in 3:46.62.

Indiana also earned a bronze medal in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a season-best time of 1:16.19. Brooks (19.42 split), freshman Mikkel Lee (18.90), Wight (19.07) and Miroslaw (18.80) posted an NCAA A cut just four hundredths behind Michigan.

TEAM SCORES
1. Indiana – 996
2. Ohio State – 820
3. Michigan – 770.5
4. Wisconsin – 734.5
5. Minnesota – 560.5
6. Penn State – 498
7. Northwestern – 469
8. Purdue – 427.5

RESULTS (PRELIMS)
100 BUTTERFLY
1. Tomer Frankel – 44.32 (Big Ten Champion, Meet Record, NCAA A Cut)
6. Finn Brooks – 45.44 (NCAA B Cut)
22. Mikkel Lee – 47.27 (Career Best)

400 IM
2. Toby Barnett – 3:42.49 (Silver, NCAA B Cut)
8. Drew Reiter – 3:46.62 (NCAA B Cut)
19. Mason Carlton – 3:50.43 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

200 FREESTYLE
2. Rafael Miroslaw – 1:32.03 (Silver, NCAA B Cut)
3. Tomer Frankel – 1:32.78 (Bronze, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
22. Warren Briggs – 1:37.49

100 BREASTSTROKE
2. Finn Brooks – 51.30 (Silver, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
3. Jassen Yep – 51.50 (Bronze, NCAA B Cut)
4. Josh Matheny – 51.69 (NCAA B Cut)
5. Maxwell Reich – 52.18 (NCAA B Cut)

100 BACKSTROKE
1. Brendan Burns – 44.62 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA A Cut)
4. Kai van Westering – 45.89 (NCAA B Cut)
5. Luke Barr – 46.01 (NCAA B Cut)
6. Gavin Wight – 46.09 (NCAA B Cut)
24. Collin McKenzie – 47.76

3-METER DIVING
1. Carson Tyler – 453.90 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA Zone Qualifier)
2. Quinn Henninger – 436.10 (Silver, NCAA Zone Qualifier)
6. Maxwell Weinrich – 392.05 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)
20. Dash Glasberg – 272.55

200 FREESTYLE RELAY
3. Finn Brooks, Mikkel Lee, Gavin Wight, Rafael Miroslaw – 1:16.19 (Bronze, NCAA A Cut)

UP NEXT
Indiana hopes to turn its momentum into a third-consecutive Big Ten title. The first task of the final day of the conference meet is the preliminary session, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET Saturday (Feb. 25) morning. The 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform dive and 400 freestyle relay will be contested on Saturday.

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