No. 3 Hoosiers Close in on Big Ten Title

Saturday, February 28

Madison, Wis.

11 a.m.

Indiana University

Big Ten Championships - Prelims

2/28/2026 3:49:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

Results (PDF)

MADISON, Wis. – No. 3-ranked Indiana advanced the top qualifier in every swimming final Saturday (Feb. 28) night as the program looks to put the finishing touches on a fifth consecutive conference title at the 2026 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Soderholm Family Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.

Hoosiers swam the fastest times in the morning in the 200-yard IM, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard backstroke. From regular season competition IU earned the top seeds in the timed finals of the 1,650-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle, which bookend the final session. Indiana leads the team competition by 250.5 points going into the evening.

IU holds the top three seeds in the 1,650 free as senior and two-time NCAA Champion Zalán Sárkány looks to repeat as conference champion. Sophomore Luke Whitlock and freshman Luke Ellis will swim alongside Sárkány in lanes five and three, respectively.

Senior Owen McDonald can repeat as champion in the 200-yard IM after winning his morning heat by over a second with a time of 1:41.23. Five swimmers posted times under 1:42.00 in prelims, including IU freshman Josh Bey, who qualified third in 1:41.72.

Fresh off Friday's 50-yard freestyle victory, junior Mikkel Lee claimed the top seed in the 100-yard freestyle with a 42.11 Saturday morning. Classmate Dylan Smiley finished four hundredths behind Lee to earn the No. 3 seed.

Sophomore Raekwon Noel was the only swimmer under 1:40 in the 200-yard butterfly prelim, swimming a personal best 1:39.97 to become IU's top qualifier in that event. Junior Aaron Shackell also posted a personal best, sneaking into the championship final with a 1:42.49.

In the final swim prelim, Indiana earned the top two seeds in the 200-yard backstroke via Kai van Westering (1:39.21) and Miroslav Knedla (1:39.28). Both Hoosiers are former Big Ten silver medalist – Van Westering in 2024 and Knedla in 2025 – and will battle for gold Saturday night.

Indiana senior Maxwell Weinrich almost gave IU another top qualifier in the platform final but placed second with a 376.50. The 2024 NCAA runner-up in the event captured silver on the 3-meter Friday night and will look to finish his final Big Ten Championships with a return to the podium.

TEAM SCORES
1. Indiana – 1,061.5
2. Michigan – 811
3. Ohio State – 712.5
4. Wisconsin – 569.5
5. Purdue – 527
6. Northwestern – 514
7. USC – 463.5
8. Minnesota – 430
9. Penn State – 307

RESULTS
200 IM
1. Owen McDonald – 1:41.23 (Championship Final Top Qualifier, NCAA Cut)
3. Josh Bey – 1:41.72 (Championship Final, Personal Best, NCAA Cut)
8. Toby Barnett – 1:42.44 (Championship Final, Personal Best, NCAA Cut)
9. Noah Cakir – 1:42.47 (Consolation Final, Personal Best, NCAA Cut)

100 FREESTYLE
1. Mikkel Lee – 42.11 (Championship Final Top Qualifier, NCAA Cut)
3. Dylan Smiley – 42.15 (Championship Final, NCAA Cut)
11. Vidar Carlbaum – 42.94 (Consolation Final)

200 BUTTERFLY
1. Raekwon Noel – 1:39.97 (Championship Final Top Qualifier, Personal Best, NCAA Cut)
8. Aaron Shackell – 1:42.49 (Championship Final, Personal Best, NCAA Cut)
13. Andrew Shackell – 1:43.90 (Consolation Final)
X. Drew Reiter – 1:45.24 (Exhibition)
X. Max Cahill – 1:45.49 (Exhibition)

200 BACKSTROKE
1. Kai van Westering – 1:39.21 (Championship Final Top Qualifier, NCAA Cut)
2. Miroslav Knedla – 1:39.28 (Championship Final, NCAA Cut)
X. David Kovacs – 1:40.24 (Exhibition, Personal Best, NCAA Cut)
X. Utakrsh Patil – 1:42.58 (Exhibition)

PLATFORM
2. Maxwell Weinrich – 376.50 (Championship Final, NCAA Zone Qualifier)
16. Joshua Sollenberger – 278.00 (Consolation Final)
X. Dash Galsberg – 322.70 (Exhibition, NCAA Zone Qualifier)
X. Aiden Sadler – 271.55 (Exhibition, NCAA Zone Qualifier)
X. Jacob Scade – 240.90 (Exhibition, NCAA Zone Qualifier)

UP NEXT
The final session of the 2026 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships kicks off at 6 p.m. ET.

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