Michigan, and the rest of the Big Ten Conference, is retaking their standing among the best in the country after a few lean years. This meet thus far has been the most exciting (men’s or women’s) major conference championship we’ve seen yet, as every relay goes at least 4 deep, and every individual event takes a fight to even make a B-Final.
Men’s 500 Free
The Michigan distance group is looking extremely fit a month out of Nationals. They took 1-2-3 in the 500 free to kick off night 2 of the Big Ten Championships, with a pair of 4:15’s (Ryan Feeley – 4:15.12 and Connor Jaeger – 4:15.65), and a 4:16.47 from Sean Ryan. Those represent three of the top four times in the country this season, with Feeley’s mark being the fastest. With only the Pac 12 left to swim, the Wolverines are eyeing three swimmers in the A-Final of this race, which will be huge for their team scoring.
The fastest non-Wolverine was Indiana’s James Barbiere in 4:18.23 for 4th. He well outpaced his more heralded teammate, All-American Ryan Hinshaw, who was 12th in 4:22.3. That shows how deep the Big Ten is this year – that time would have placed 5th in the Big 12, and 3rd in the ACC.
Wisconsin junior Michael Weiss foreshadowed a strong meet for the Badgers with a 4:19.12 for 5th and a new Wisconsin record. It looks like despite a lack of pure talent, Whitney Hite is making things happen in Madison.
Men’s 200 IM
Michigan followed their sweep of the 500 with a 1-2 finish in the 200 IM from Kyle Whitaker (1:43.40) and Daniel Madwed (1:44.47).
Whitaker’s time places him 4th in the country this season, thanks to a huge breaststroke leg where he blew by the competition. Unlike the trend in women’s swimming, there are few men who have monster breaststroke legs in this race, and Whitaker’s 29.54 is among the best, if not the best, in the country. Word on the pool deck is that Whitaker is strongly considering the 200 breaststroke, rather than the 200 fly, as his Saturday event, and this swim shows that his might be a wise decision.
Madwed’s time is within a tenth of his lifetime best. That swim is a key race for the Wolverines for NCAA’s. Madwed should score big in the 100 and 200 flys, but they need him to score points in this 200 IM (he didn’t last season) as well.
Wisconsin’s Daniel Lester seems to finally be hitting his full potential, and took 3rd in 1:44.48 for another Wisconsin school record. Indiana sophomore Cody Miller swam to 4th in 1:44.81. Like Whitaker, he also had a spectacular breaststroke leg, but that’s not a big surprise as the defending 100 and 200 breaststroke conference champion.
Penn State’s Scott Marino went a 1:44.97 in prelims, but added a hair to place 5th.
Purdue freshman Lyam Dias won the B-Final in 1:45.79. That puts him 2nd on the program’s all-time list and cuts two seconds off of their freshman record.
Men’s 50 Free
Ohio State’s Jason Schnur is becoming one of the best sprinters in the country this year, and won the Big Ten Championship in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 19.35. He was even faster in prelims in 19.28. If/when Tim Phillips returns to collegiate competition next season, the Buckeyes will have a formidable 1-2 sprint punch.
Michigan’s Miguel Ortiz took 2nd in 19.63, and Purdue’s Daniel Tucker was 3rd in 19.66.
After Tucker, Iowa’s incredible sprint trio touched 4th, 5th, and 6th (Duncan Partridge, Ryan Phelan, and Paul Gordon).
After looking at the balanced finish in this 50, the 200 free relay could be another awesome race just like we saw in the 200 medley. Iowa, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan, and Purdue all seem to have a shot at the title. (Note that unlike other conferences, the Big Ten saves the 200 free relay for Friday).
Men’s 1-Meter Diving
Ohio State and Indiana are duking it out for 2nd-place in the Big Ten, and they both came out guns-hot in the first of the diving competitions. The pair combined for the top 7 finishers in the event, with Ohio State’s Shane Miszkiel and Chris Holstein took 1st and 2nd, respectively. Ohio State may have had the top finishers, but Indiana entered a stunning 10 divers (and 8 scorers) to pull into 2nd-place position after the event.
In the short-term, the strategy worked, but as the Hoosiers run short on swimmers, it will be interesting to see if they can keep pulling back into the lead in the other two diving events.
Men’s 400 Medley Relay
The Michigan 400 medley relay came close to another meet record to take the win in this 400 medley in 4:07.32. That’s the 2nd-best time in the country this year, behind only Arizona, and is two seconds faster than Michigan swam at NCAA’s last year. The relay included a dynamite back half, with Sean Fletcher splitting 45.52 on the fly leg and Dan Madwed splitting 42.31 on the free leg. That’s unheard-of speed from Madwed on the anchor, which speaks to greatly improved overall maturity and versatility in his swimming.
Penn State again took 2nd, just like they did in the 200, in this race. Their time of 3:09.09 destroys their old school record, and included a 52.67 from breaststroker Mitchell Scherer, the only swimmer on the relay older than a sophomore. Ohio State was 3rd in 3:09.37, and Iowa was 4th in 3:11.87.
Indiana touched the wall 3rd, but was DQ’ed on an early takeoff by their anchor Barbiere. That negated great legs from James Wells (46.37) and Cody Miller (52.27). That disqualification cost Indiana major points, and is going to make it very difficult to finish higher than 3rd.
Other good splits included a 42.4 from Minnesota anchor Zach Bolin.
Team Standings
1. Michigan 253
2. Ohio State 218
3. Indiana 189
4. Iowa 152
5. Purdue 124
6. Penn State 118
7. Minnesota 116
8. Wisconsin 110
9. Northwestern 72
10. Michigan State 44
Nostradamus, I think everyone is fully rested except for the top guys like Dan Madwed and Kyle Whitaker.
Joe, they are fully rested… Michigan did the same thing last year and finished a disappointing 9th at NCAA’s…
Wow, some really great swimming going on in this Big 10 championship meet! Michigan has really impressed me, and I don’t think for one second that they’re fully rested yet. They’re my sleeper pick to be in that top 3-5 range at NCAA’s. Can’t wait to see what some of these guys can do at NCAAs!