By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
2026 Men’s Big Ten Championships
Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 28 Location: Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, Madison, WI Defending champions: Indiana men (4x) Live Results (also available on Meet Mobile: “2026 Men’s B1G Championship”) Live Video ($): B1G+ Championship Central – Big Ten Championship Central – Wisconsin SwimSwam’s Meet Preview Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin SwimSwam Live Recaps Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3 Finals: Day 1 Relays | Day 2MEN’S 100-YARD BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS
NCAA Record: 43.22, Hubert Kos (Texas) – 2025 Big Ten Record: 43.61, Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 2023 Big Ten Meet Record: 44.31, Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 2022 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 46.29 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 45.26‘A’ Final Qualifiers:
Owen McDonald (Indiana) – 44.28 *Meet Record* Miroslav Knedla (Indiana) – 44.67 Jack Wilkening (Michigan) – 44.79 Raekwon Noel (Indiana) – 44.88 Matthew Bittner (Penn State) – 44.98 Michal Chmielewski (USC) – 45.08 Alex Hotta (Purdue) – 45.38 Stuart Seymour (Northwestern) – 45.41Indiana senior Owen McDonald clocked a Big Ten Meet Record en route to claiming the top seed in the 100 backstroke at the Men’s Big Ten Championships on Friday morning.
McDonald swam a time of 44.28, breaking Brendan Burns‘ 2022 record of 44.31 by three hundredths to claim the top seed by 0.39. Though a new meet record, McDonald has been faster; he swam 44.13 at the Ohio State Invitational in November, which ranks him sixth in the nation this season.
The overall Big Ten Record still belongs to Burns, courtesy of the 43.61 he threw down to win the 2023 NCAA title in the event.
Meet record in the morning.Top seed tonight.
Reigning 100 back champ Owen McDonald broke @_brendanburns' meet record with a 44.28. pic.twitter.com/pq5ziaXQl7
— Indiana Swim & Dive (@IndianaSwimDive) February 27, 2026
McDonald kicked off the meet on Wednesday by contributing a 20.12 fly leg to Indiana’s second-place finish in the 200 medley relay and a 1:31.69 to their third-place finish in the 800 free relay, before finishing runner-up in the 100 fly (44.62) on Thursday, clipping his personal best by six one-hundredths.
McDonald transferred to Indiana for the 2024-25 season after spending his first two years at Arizona State. As a freshman with the Sun Devils, he made the ‘A’ final in both backstrokes at NCAAs, finishing fifth in the 200 and sixth in the 100, and placed 28th in the 200 IM. As a sophomore, he was the third-highest scorer at the 2024 NCAA Championships, tallying 46 points to help Arizona State claim the national title, finishing second in the 200 IM, third in the 200 back, and sixth in the 100 back.
In his first season as a Hoosier, McDonald swept his individual events at the Big Ten Championships, winning both backstrokes with times of 44.38 and 1:37.15, as well as the 200 IM in 1:39.89. He went on to place third in the 200 IM (1:39.42) and sixth in both backstroke events (44.16, 1:37.59) at NCAAs. His 200 back (1:36.63) and 200 IM (1:39.23) bests date back to the 2024 NCAA meet, while his 100s have improved since arriving in Bloomington, dropping from 44.25 in the 100 back and from 46.97 in the 100 fly.
The 100 fly improvement is largely a product of necessity rather than focus; the new NCAA event order places both the 200 IM and 200 back on day four, forcing McDonald to find a day two event. With his two strongest events now in direct conflict, tomorrow will offer a telling signal as to which he intends to prioritize at NCAAs.
Indiana are in the driver’s seat to claim their fifth straight Big Ten team title and 32nd in program history. Based on today’s prelim session, they are slated to hold a 263.5-point cushion at the end of tonight’s finals, having entered the day with a narrow 44-point lead over Michigan after Thursday’s finals.
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