2025 Men’s Big Ten Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2025 MEN’S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Dates: Wednesday, February 26–Saturday, March 1
• Location: Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Defending champions: Indiana men (3x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide
• Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC*, Wisconsin
• Results: Day 1 | Day 2
• Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Mathematically speaking, odds are that Indiana will walk away from tonight’s session as the 2025 Big Ten Champions, leading the field with 1067 points after 3 days of competition. Before the confetti falls, however, there is still plenty of swimming left in store, with the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 400 free relay left for swimming events and the platform diving event still to come.

The first event of the night will feature the fastest heat of the 1650 freesyle with top seed Zalan Sarkany of Indiana leading the field. The 2024 SC World Champion in the 800 freestyle, Sarkany enters as the heavy favorite, holding the top seed by over 10 seconds (14:37.49). Notably, Minnesota freshman Luke Brennan led the early heats with a 14:55.25, which has the potential to hold up for a top 5 finish in the final.

ASU transfer Owen McDonald from Indiana will look to wrap up a strong meet with the 200 backstroke, where he holds the top seed for the final. McDonald posted a time of 1:39.06 in prelims, leading the field by about a half second. With his season-best of 1:38.07 standing well over a second ahead of the field, McDonald should be in the position to add another gold to his collection.

The 100 freestyle will feature a fierce battle between the top swimmers in the field. In prelims, the top 6 finishers were only separated by .13, with Indiana’s Dylan Smiley and Michigan’s Gal Groumi tying for the top seed (42.09). Given that anything can happen over such a short distance, expect there to be plenty of excitement before that event steps onto the blocks.

Following their legacy as “breaststroke U”, Indiana will occupy 4 of the 8 lanes in the 200 breastroke ‘A’ final tonight, led by 5th year and defending Big Ten Champion Jassen Yep (1:51.20). Yep’s teammates Josh Matheny (1:51.47) and Toby Barnett (1:52.44) should make this an interesting race for their team, with a likely Indiana podium in sight.

The 200 butterfly will close out the individual event slate for swimming, with USC sophomore Krzyszof Chmielewski leading the way in prelims with a time of 1:40.72. Chmielewski holds a season best of 1:38.99, and should certainly challenge the 1:40 barrier in finals along with Brendan Burns‘ meet record of 1:39.22.

The 400 freestyle relay will mark the end of the Championships. As with all of the relays this week, this race could prove to be a huge toss-up. Indiana enters as the top seed with a 2:47.87 entry time. However, both Michigan and Ohio State have been right around the 2:50 barrier this season, with Michigan already winning the 200 freestyle relay earlier in the meet. Add-in USC winning the 800 freestyle relay on the first night of competition, and the field feels wide open for the taking.

Team Standings After Day 3

1. Indiana – 1,067
2. Michigan – 784.5
3. Ohio State – 731
4. USC – 588
5. Minnesota – 512.5
6. Wisconsin – 498
7. Northwestern – 473
8. Purdue – 406.5
9. Penn State – 372.5

Men’s 1650 Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2020 SEC Championships)
• Big Ten Record: 14:22.88 – Felix Auboeck, Michigan (2017 NCAA Championships)
• Meet Record: 14:29.25 – Felix Auboeck, Michigan (2017)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 14:37.31
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 14:54.92
• 2024 Champion: Samuel Campbell, Ohio State – 14:42.63

Top 8:

1. Zalan Sarkany (Indiana) – 14:38.01
2. Mason Edmund (Ohio State) – 14:45.81
3. Krzysztof Chmielewski (USC) – 14:46.87
4. Bar Soloveychik (Minnesota) – 14:48.67
5. Samuel Campbell (Ohio State) – 14:49.25
6. Joshua Staples (Northwestern) – 14:53.20
7. Jon Joentvedt (Michigan) – 14:53.99
8. Luke Brennan (Minnesota) – 14:.55.25

Indiana’s Zalan Sarkany earned his second Big Ten title with a strong win out of the final heat tonight. Sarkany established the lead early, built up a solid lead by the halfway point, and finished strong to win by nearly eight seconds. Sarkany won the 500 free earlier in the week. Tonight’s time was about half a second away from his midseason time, and exactly 15 seconds shy of his personal best, which he set at the 2024 Pac-12 Championships while swimming for Arizona State.

Ohio State’s Mason Edmund had a strong back half to take 2nd in 14:45.81, hitting a personal best by almost eight seconds. USC’s Krzysztof Chmielewski stayed relatively close to Sarkany early in the race, but couldn’t hold the pace, and ended up 3rd in 14:46.87.

Men’s 200 Backstroke – Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, Cal (2024 NCAAs)
• Big Ten Record: 1:37.58 – Tyler Clary, Michigan (2009 NCAAs)
• Meet Record: 1:38.22 – Brendan Burns, Indiana (2023)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:36.71
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 1:40.62
• 2024 Champion: Brendan Burns, Indiana – 1:39.50

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Owen McDonald (Indiana) – 1:37.15
2. Miroslav Knedla (Indiana) – 1:39.26
3. Cornelius Jahn (Ohio State) – 1:39.50
4. Jack Wilkening (Michigan) – 1:40.34
5. David Gerchick (Northwestern) – 1:41.31
6. Blake Rowe (Purdue) – 1:42.54
7. Inbar Danzinger (Michigan) – 1:42.85
8. Eitan Ben-Shitrit (Michigan) – 1:43.76

For the second race in a row, an Arizona State transfer won for Indiana. This time, the victor was Owen McDonald, who took down a 16 year-old Big Ten record to win in 1:37.15. That eclipses the previous conference record of 1:37.58, set by future Olympian Tyler Clary back in 2009, as well as the meet record of 1:28.22, set by Hoosier Brendan Burns just two years ago.

McDonald’s swim tonight moves him to #3 in the nation, behind Jonny Marshall (1:35.85) and Hubert Kos (1:36.10). That’s not actually a PR for McDonald, as his best time of 1:36.63 came at last year’s NCAAs while he was swimming for ASU.

McDonald’s teammate, freshman Miroslav Knedla, took 2nd in 1:39.26, touching just ahead of another freshman, Cornelius Jahn of Ohio State (1:39.50).

Men’s 100 Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018 NCAAs)
• Big Ten Record: 40.83 – Bowen Becker, Minnesota (2019 NCAAs)
• Meet Record: 41.38 – Ruslan Gaziev, Ohio State (2023)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 49.18
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 42.19
• 2024 Champion: Bence Szabados, Michigan – 42.09 (returning)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Tomas Navikonis (Ohio State) – 41.55
2. Matt King (Indiana) – 41.73
3. Dylan Smiley (Indiana) – 41.85
4. Taiko Torepe-Ormsby (Wisconsin) – 41.91
5. Gal Cohen Groumi (Michigan) / Braden Samuels (Purdue) – 42.01
6. (tie)
7. Mikkel Lee (Indiana) – 42.37
8. Bence Szabados (Michigan) – 42.63

Ohio State’s Tomas Navikonis ended Indiana’s winning streak, earning a personal best time of 41.55 in doing so. Navikonis had never been under 42 until tonight, but knocked over half a second off his lifetime best while  moving past Indiana’s Matt King on the final length.

For most of the race, it looked like King might be the third new Hoosier to  win tonight, and while he couldn’t match Navikonis on the last 25, he hung on to beat teammate Dylan Smiley in the battle for 2nd, 41.73 to 41.85.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:46.35 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024 NCAAs)
• Big Ten Record: 1:48.76 – Max McHugh, Minnesota (2022 NCAAs)
• Meet Record: 1:49.45 – Max McHugh, Minnesota (2022)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:50.65
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 1:53.12
• 2024 Champion: Jassen Yep, Indiana – 1:50.40 (returning)

Top 8 Finishers:

Top 8:

1. Josh Matheny (Indiana) – 1:49.83
2. Jassen Yep (Indiana) – 1:49.93
3. Toby Barnett (Indiana) – 1:51.73
4. Caspar Corbeau (Indiana) – 1:52.22
5. Joe Polyak (Minnesota) – 1:52.67
6. Ben Dillard (USC) – 1:52.97
7. Chun Ho Chan (USC) – 1:52.99
8. Ozan Kalafat (Michigan) – 1:53.10

Jassen Yep led most of the way, but Josh Matheny was right next to him the entire race and then moved past Yep on the last lap to win 1:49.83 to 1:49.93. That was the time first under 1:50 for both men. Mathney’s personal best had been a 1:50.12, while Yep’s had been a 1:50.40.

The Hoosiers swept the top four spots tonight. Toby Barnett also hit a lifetime best, taking 3rd with a 1:51.73. Transfer Caspar Corbeau placed 4th in 1:52.22; he owns a 1:49.15 personal best from the 2023 NCAA Championships, when he was swimming for Texas.

Minnesota freshman Joe Polyak had a big day. He came into the day with a lifetime best of 1:57.90 from late 2023, dropped to a 1:53.40 in prelims, and then went 1:52.67 in finals to finish 5th.

Men’s 200 Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:37.17 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (January 2025 Dual Meet)
• Big Ten Record: 1:38.71 – Brendan Burns, Indiana (2022 NCAAs)
• Meet Record: 1:39.22 – Brendan Burns, Indiana (2021)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.05
• 2024 NCAA Invited Time: 1:42.10
• 2024 Champion: Gal Cohen Groumi, Michigan – 1:39.60 (returning)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Colin Geer (Michigan) – 1:39.58
2. Jacob Johnson (Minnesota) – 1:40.47
3. Tyler Ray (Michigan) – 1:40.55
4. Tomer Frankel (Indiana) – 1:40.94
5. Michal Chmielewski (USC)  – 1:41.18
6. Krzysztof Chmielewski (USC) – 1;41.44
7. Charles Jones (Wisconsin) – 1:42.41
8. Diego Nosack (Northwestern) – 1:42.63

Michigan sophomore Colin Geer took the lead on the third lap, and then put the hammer down on the final lap to earn his first individual Big Ten title, and a lifetime best, with a time of 1:39.58, his first time under not only 1:40, but 1:41. Geer took 4th in the 200 IM Thursday with a lifetime best of 1:40.65.

Minnesota freshman Jacob Johnson took 2nd in 1:40.47; that appears to be a new school record for the Gopher. Michighan’s Tyler Ray closed in 25.88 and nearly got past Johnson, taking 3rd in 1:40.55.

Tomer Frankel of Indiana was out fast and led through the first 100, ultimately taking 4th in 1:40.94.

Team Scores Through the 200 Fly:

1. Indiana – 1433
2. Michigan – 1072
3. Ohio State – 995
4. Southern California – 777
5. Minnesota – 732.5
6. Wisconsin – 680
7. Northwestern – 616
8. Purdue – 470
9. Penn State – 464.5

Men’s Platform Diving – Finals

• Meet Record: 557.90 – David Boudia, Purdue (2011)
• 2024 Champion: Carson Tyler, Indiana – 462.60 (returning)

Top 8:

1. Jordan Rzepka (Purdue) – 464.05
2. Carson Tyler (Indiana) – 430.85
3. Tyler Willis (Purdue) – 430.50
4. Quinn Henniger (Indiana) – 413.05
5. Maxwell Weinreich (Indiana) – 403.05
6. Kaden Springfield (Purdue) – 391.40
7. Laurent Gosselin-Paradis (USC) – 383.70
8. Andrew Bennett (Minnesota) – 329.20

Purdue solidified their lead over Penn State in the team standings by racking up the points in the final diving event. Jordan Rzepka got the win with a score of 464.05, while freshmen Tyler Willis (430.50) and Kaden Springfield (403.05) took 3rd and 6th, respectively.

The Hoosiers already were locked to win the conference title, but they extended their lead over Michigan to a 400+ point margin with three A-finalists themselves. Carson Tyler took 2nd with a score of 430.85, 1m champ Quinn Henniger placed 4th (413.05), and Maxwell Weinrich scored 403.06 to take 5th

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay – Finals

• NCAA Record: 2:42.41 – Tennessee (2025 SEC Championships)
• Big Ten Record: 2:47.11 – Indiana (2018)
• Meet Record: 2:47.16 – Ohio State (2022)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:49.79
• 2024 Champion: Indiana – 2:48.19

Top 9:

1. Indiana – 2:45.62
2. Ohio State – 2:47.47
3. Michigan – 2:48.91
4. Northwestern – 2:49.77
5. Southern Cal – 2:49.78
6. Penn State – 2:50.77
7. Wisconsin – 2:51.42
8. Purdue – 2:51.92
9. Minnesota – 2:53.04

Indiana broke the meet and overall championship records in the 400 free relay to close out a dominant team performance this week. 200 back champ Owen McDonald led off in a personal best time of 41.62, going below 42.0 on a flat start for the first time in his career. Mikkel Lee (41.72) and Dylan Smiley (41.59) had a pair of sub-42 splits, then Matt King anchored in a swift 40.69 as the Hoosier touched in 2:45.62.

Just three years ago, that time would’ve won at the NCAA Championships, but that’s “only” the 6th-fastest time in the country this season.

Ohio State took 2nd in 2:47.47. 100 free champ Tomas Navikonis led off in 41.74, Daniel Baltes (42.09) and Mario McDonald (42.03) had similar splits on the middle two legs, and then freshman Cornelius Jahn anchored in 41.61.

Michigan finished 3rd in 2:48.91, with all four men splitting within 0.21s of each other. Gal Cohen Groumi led off in 42.14, followed by Bence Szabados (42.18), Colin Geer (42.35) and Jack Wilkening (42.24).

Final Scores

1. Indiana – 1579
2. Michigan – 1148
3. Ohio State – 1100
4. Southern California – 878
5. Minnesota – 794.5
6. Wisconsin – 735
7. Northwestern – 711
8. Purdue – 597
9. Penn State – 512.5