BIG TEN – MEN
- Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27
- Boilermaker Aquatic Center, West Lafayette, IN (Eastern Time Zone)
- Prelims 11AM / Finals 6:30PM (Eastern Time)
- Defending Champion: Michigan (5x) (results)
- Live results
- Live Video ($)
- Championship Central
Top 5 Team Standings Through Event 2:
- Michigan 496
- Indiana 452
- Ohio State 427.5
- Minnesota 308
- Wisconsin 268
Day 3 of the men’s Big Ten Championships starts this morning in West Lafayette, with prelims of 5 swimming events on the way.
Dylan Bosch of Michigan returns to defend his 400 IM crown and Ohio State’s Matt McHugh is the defending 100 fly champ, and could also contend for a 100 back title if he swims that event a day after hitting the meet’s fastest leadoff leg in the 400 medley relay.
The morning session will also feature prelims of the 100 breast and 200 free. Keep refreshing this page for live, event-by-event updates of all the action.
400 IM – Prelims
Michigan’s Dylan Bosch looks in good form to defend his 2015 title in the 400 IM after going 3:41.75 this morning to run away with the top seed. That’s faster than he was in prelims a year ago, and is only about a second off his 2015 best of 3:40.61. His lifetime-best still stands at the 3:39.07 he went in 2014 at Big Tens while racing now-graduated teammate Kyle Whitaker.
Minnesota’s Jakub Maly continued a strong week with a 3:42.79 that puts him solidly second. Bosch and Maly are the only two swimmers to return from last year’s top 5, and lead prelims by about three seconds.
Michigan’s Ian Rainey went 3:45.61 to push all the way up to third. That’s the fastest the sophomore has been since coming to Michigan, shattering his lifetime-best of 3:46.82 from way back in 2014.
Purdue’s Daniel Conway took fourth (3:47.02) followed closely by Minnesota’s John Bushman (3:47.68), the former Wisconsin Badger who sat out last season to complete his transfer across the border.
Top 8:
- Bosch, MICH – 3:41.75
- Maly, MINN – 3:42.79
- Rainey, MICH – 3:45.61
- Conway, PUR – 3:47.02
- Bushman, MINN – 3:47.68
- Whiteman, OSU – 3:48.21
- Anderson, WISC – 3:48.32
- Stitt, MICH – 3:48.33
100 Fly – Prelims
Indiana freshman Vinicius Lanza earned the top spot in the 100 fly, besting last year’s freshman champion Matt McHugh of Ohio State.
Lanza, a Brazilian national who joined Indiana at the semester break, went 45.94 for the top seed, a time just off what McHugh went in winning the event last year and just a tenth away from an NCAA “A” cut and the subsequent automatic NCAA bid.
McHugh was 46.11, and will challenge Lanza tonight to keep the 100 fly title in OSU hands for a third-straight year – Tim Phillips won the event the season before McHugh.
Michigan had a pair of 46.6s, with Evan White (46.63) leading Aaron Whitaker (46.68), who was the 2015 runner-up.
Top 8:
- Lanza, IU – 45.94
- McHugh, OSU – 46.11
- White, MICH – 46.63
- Whitaker, MICH – 46.68
- Flager, PUR – 46.83
- Twarowski, IA – 46.93
- Turner, MINN – 47.22
- Irwin, IU – 47.24
200 Free – Prelims
The team battle has been all about Michigan and Indiana so far, and the 200 free was a perfect example. The two programs combined to take 5 of the 8 spots in the A final, with all 5 beating every other team’s entrants in the process.
Anze Tavcar is the top qualifier for Indiana after going 1:33.99. The junior moves up to the A heat after just missing the cut last year and ultimately winning the consolation final. His sophomore teammate Blake Pieroni is third overall at 1:34.12. Pieroni was third last year.
In between is Anders Nielsen of Michigan, who was 1:34.09. He’s the top returner after taking second last year, as Ohio State’s Josh Fleagle is redshirting the season after winning the 2015 title.
Michigan also swept the fourth and fifth spots with Peter Brumm (1:34.30) and Jack Mangan (1:34.43). It was also a good event for Wisconsin, with two into the A final (Brett Pinfold and Cannon Clifton) and three more in the B heat.
Top 8:
- Tavcar, IU – 1:33.99
- Nielsen, MICH – 1:34.09
- Pieroni, IU – 1:34.12
- Brumm, MICH – 1:34.30
- Mangan, MICH – 1:34.43
- Pinfold, WISC – 1:34.67
- Hillmer, OSU – 1:35.39
- Clifton, WISC – 1:35.40
100 Breast – Prelims
Indiana continued a big morning by taking the top two spots in the 100 breaststroke. Tanner Kurz blasted a 52.07 to take one full second off his lifetime-best, set midway through this season. Kurz was just 8th overall last season, but with four swimmers graduating out ahead of him, is now in the driver’s seat for a Big Ten title and to become just the 5th Big Ten man under 52 seconds in the event.
His freshman teammate Ian Finnerty was 52.15 for second place. That’s a huge drop for Finnerty as well, who came into IU’s program with a best of 53.1.
Another returning A finalist, Iowa’s Roman Trussov, sits third in 53.10, with Purdue’s Marat Amaltdinov (53.19) close behind.
Further back in the field, Ohio State’s DJ MacDonald snuck back into the championship heat in 53.28 for 7th place. MacDonald was the field’s top returner after taking second in 52.4 last year.
Top 8 :
- Kurz, IU- 52.07
- Finnerty, IU – 52.15
- Trussov, IA – 53.10
- Amatdinov, PUR – 53.19
- Taylor, IU – 53.22
- Kandt, MSU – 53.27
- MacDonald, OSU – 53.28
- Brock, IU – 53.36
100 Back – Prelims
Pulling a day 3 100 fly/100 back double, Ohio State’s Matt McHugh still had enough in the tank to go 46.26 for the top seed in the second of those events. The time breaks the pool record held by Olympic champ Matt Grevers, and tops the twin 46.37s McHugh put up in both prelims and finals last year.
Hitting that exact 46.37 mark was Michigan’s Kyle Dudzinksi for the second spot. That’s the fastest Dudzinksi has been since the 2014 season, when he went 46.06 for Virginia. He sat out last collegiate season to transfer to Michigan.
Indiana’s Robert Glover was 46.76 for third, with a pair of Michigan swimmers (Aaron Whitaker and Jason Chen) joining him under 47.
Top 8:
- McHugh, OSU – 46.26
- Dudzinski, MICH – 46.37
- Glover, IU – 46.76
- Whitaker, MICH – 46.78
- Chen, MICH – 46.87
- Byrd, WISC – 47.00
- Appleby, OSU – 47.03
- Turner, MINN – 47.18
Did not know Lanza went to US, he was silver at 100 fly on Jr Worlds. Can he go a 45 low? (He has a 52,70 LCM from Last December)
I was at that eastern zone meet in 2005, some pool on Long Island. Watched him go 55 in the 100 IM and 59 in the 100 breast as a 12 year old for NAG’s. He was huge for a 12 yo.
Correct me if I’m wrong but that name of Tanner Kurz reminds me of something.
He has not been NAG record holder about a decade ago?
I’m too lazy to search right now but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen his name in the records’ table one day.
Yes, he was definitely a NAG holder. I’ve been waiting for him to reach his potential and this is finally a great breakout swim for him.
Ya he broke Michael Phelps 400 IM record when he was 12 and under.
Then he was also a 54 100 breaststroker when he was 14 and under I believe