Big Ten Men’s Swimming Championship primer

The postseason stage is about for Northwestern University males’s swimming and diving, because the Wildcats journey to their northern Wisconsin neighbors for the Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. While there’s just one true juggernaut — No. 3 Indiana — within the convention this yr, Northwestern will nonetheless be up towards robust competitors, with six of the 9 groups competing ranked within the CSCAA’s prime 25.

However, head coach Rachel Stratton-Mills has her squad on a heater as of late, and the ‘Cats have a chance to make some real noise. Unlike the women’s workforce, Northwestern’s males’s swim and dive workforce has some heavy hitters, with Stuart Seymour, Joshua Staples and David Gerchik slated as true podium contenders in a number of particular person occasions.

These ‘Cats are legit… here’s a preview of all of the motion set to happen in Madison:

The meet will likely be going down Feb. 25-28 on the Soderholm Family Aquatic Center on the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The meet is a 25-yard short-course meet.

Wednesday finals (Feb. 25, 4 p.m.): 200-yard medley relay, 800-yard freestyle relay

Thursday finals (Feb. 26, 5:30 p.m.): 100-yard butterfly, 400-yard particular person medley, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 1-meter diving, 200-yard freestyle relay

Friday finals (Feb. 27, 5:30 p.m.): 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 500-yard freestyle, 50-yard freestyle, 3-meter diving, 400-yard medley relay

Saturday finals (Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m.): 200-yard particular person medley, 1650-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard backstroke, platform diving, 400-yard freestyle relay

** Note: All particular person swimming and diving occasions could have prelims the morning of the finals session for the occasion.

The meet will likely be broadcast on Big Ten Plus for all 4 days of competitors.

No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes

No. 12 Michigan Wolverines

No. 19 Northwestern Wildcats

Not receiving votes: Minnesota, Purdue, Penn State

The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) full top-25 February rankings might be discovered HERE.

2. Michigan (1148 factors)

3. Ohio State (1100 factors)

5. Minnesota (794.5 factors)

More in-depth meet data comparable to warmth sheets and stay outcomes might be discovered on the Big Ten conference’s website page for the event or Wisconsin Athletic’s website page for the event. Live outcomes can be discovered on the Meet Mobile app. Additionally, SwimSwam, the world’s chief in specialised swimming protection, will likely be releasing stay outcomes, evaluation and storylines from the meet at their central page for the competition.

Note: Individual swimmers are solely allowed to swim a most of three particular person occasions at Big Ten Championships. Meet entries aren’t due till the top of the day, so some assumptions had been made about what occasions prime swimmers will swim.

Top Northwestern finisher: seventh (Seymour-Staples-Schuster-Kos)

Beating any Hoosier relay at these Big Ten Championships will likely be a tall activity. Penn State is just not out of this one, seeded simply over a second behind Ray Looze’s workforce. However, the Knedla-Gulledge-McDonald-Lee relay ought to prevail on this one.

Top Northwestern finisher: 4th (Staples-Seymour-Kos-Nosack)

The Buckeyes are the highest qualifier on this occasion, however I’ve a tough time believing that the Hoosiers put out their three greatest swimmers — Owen McDonald, Aaron Shackell and Zalán Sárkány —- and don’t stroll away with the victory.

Meanwhile, that is set to be one in all Northwestern’s stronger relays. The ‘Cats are over three seconds outside of a podium finish, but should be a lock for fourth.

Winner: Tyler Ray (Michigan)

Top Northwestern finisher: Stuart Seymour

This will be one of the best events of the meet, with seeds one through nine entering the meet separated by less than a second. It’ll be a splash to the end, however I belief the expertise of Ray, the occasion’s reigning champion.

Seymour is within the combine for the ‘Cats with his 45.43 from November. Last year he placed tenth, just missing out on finals. This year, he should place firmly in the top eight, with a chance to finish top five with a good swim.

Winner: Tristan Jankovics (Ohio State)

Top Northwestern finisher: Joshua Staples

Indiana’s star Hungarian, Sárkány, ought to swim this occasion, however Ohio State’s Jankovics is the Big Ten convention report holder. The Canadian ought to win, repeating his gold from final yr.

However, Northwestern’s Staples could make some actual noise on this occasion, seeded third with a 3:40.05. The Australian might want to go 3:39 to be on the rostrum — a brand new private greatest — however I feel he has it within the tank.

Winner: Tomas Navikonis (Ohio State)

Top Northwestern finisher: Oli Kos

Navikonis’ 1:31.60 is the highest time getting into the meet. He received final yr, and may defend his title this time round in Madison.

Winner: Luka Mladenovic (Michigan)

Top Northwestern finisher: Joshua Staples

My decide to win this occasion can be Indiana’s Owen McDonald, however I don’t assume he’ll swim it. Instead, Michigan’s Mladenovic ought to simply out-touch Penn State’s Mariano Lazzerini, who will likely be higher within the 200-yard distance.

Staples ought to end fourth for Northwestern, punctuating his beautiful rise to prominence in breaststroke occasions simply this season.

Winner: Max Miller (Purdue)

Top Northwestern finisher: Kyle Ly

After ending fourth at Big Tens final yr, Miller appears to be inevitable within the 1-meter diving competitors this season. The Boilermakers have constructed a world-class diving program in West Lafayette, and Miller ought to signify that with a gold medal victory on Thursday.

Top Northwestern finisher: fifth (Schuster-Seymour-Duncan-Kos)

This will likely be one of the vital thrilling relays, with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers separated by simply 0.19 seconds getting into the meet. However, I give Ohio State the sting coming house, with quickly to be 50-yard freestyle champion Matthew Klinge as its relay anchor.

Winner: Owen McDonald (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: Stuart Seymour

Northwestern’s Stuart Seymour is seeded second getting into this occasion with a 44.64, however remains to be a protracted shot to win with Owen McDonald, the reigning champion sitting as prime seed. McDonald has an opportunity to go sub-43, and is a positive guess to win, however Seymour can hold on and seize second for Northwestern if he executes.

Winner: Mariano Lazzerini (Penn State)

Top Northwestern finisher: Tona Zinn

Lazzerini received’t get it performed within the 100-yard breaststroke, however ought to have sufficient endurance to outlast Indiana’s Noah Cakir and Michigan’s Mladenovic within the 200. A gold for the Nittany Lions!

Winner: Zalán Sárkány (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: Alexander Rousseau

Hoosier dominance. Indiana ought to go 1-2-3 within the 500-yard freestyle, with Sárkány, Shackell and Whitlock — two of the convention’s prime three swimmers, and an Olympian — all slated to swim the occasion. It needs to be Sárkány, the Hungarian, who will get the victory.

Winner: Matthew Klinge (Ohio State)

Top Northwestern finisher: Connor Schuster

Klinge is about to twin with Michigan’s Ray for a second-straight yr. In 2025, Ray missed out on gold by simply 0.05, and, per my forecast, ought to lose by a small margin to the Buckeye but once more. Look out for Indiana’s Mikkel Lee and Drew Smiley, nevertheless. Both of them are below 0.4 seconds outdoors of Klinge’s prime common season time and will steal the highest spot.

Winner: Joshua Sollenberger (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: Adam Cohen

A very good ol’ Indiana-Purdue rivalry matchup within the 3-meter diving competitors. Sollenberger and Purdue’s Tyler Willis will go head-to-head, although I’m choosing the Hoosier to get the job performed.

Top Northwestern finisher: sixth (Seymour-Staples-Schuster-Kos)

Another Hoosier relay win. The McDonald-Avakov-Noel-Smiley workforce ought to cruise to victory, with the Wolverines nabbing second.

Winner: Owen McDonald (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: Joshua Staples

Owen McDonald is the convention report holder on this occasion and may win by near a second. Northwestern’s Joshua Staples is seeded second, however I feel he’ll really end fourth, barring a serious breakout swim. Michigan’s Mladenovic and Ohio State’s Jankovics are sure to swim considerably sooner than their 1:43 entry occasions, making the sprint to the rostrum on this occasion must-watch motion.

Winner: Zalán Sárkány (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: Alexander Rousseau

Sárkány is seeded 14 SECONDS sooner than the second seed on this occasion. The convention’s prime swimmer will dominate this race, although the Hoosiers have a great probability to go 1-2-3 in a second distance freestyle occasion, with Whitlock and Luke Ellis seeded second and third, respectively.

Winner: Mikkel Lee (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: Cade Duncan

A little bit of a shocker within the 100-yard freestyle. Lee takes down Smiley, who has been seemingly inevitable on this occasion all season lengthy. Lee has improved by 0.4 since final yr’s Big Tens and has the velocity to tug off the upset.

The ‘Cats have two competitive sprint freestylers in Duncan and Seymour. A low-42 swim from either of them would put Northwestern into medal contention in this event.

Winner: Krzysztof Chmielewski (USC)

Top Northwestern finisher: Diego Nosack

Don’t guess towards European butterfly. Michigan’s Ray positioned third final yr, virtually a second sooner than USC’s Chmielewski, however I just like the pounding Pole to swim a greatest time and seize the gold.

Winner: Miroslav Knedla (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: David Gerchik

This occasion has three contenders: Indiana’s Knedla, Penn State’s Cooper Morley and Northwestern’s David Gerchik. Though I like Gerchik to beat out Morley for second, Knedla has been probably the most constant on this occasion traditionally and may gather one more gold for the Hoosiers.

Winner: Joshua Hedberg (Indiana)

Top Northwestern finisher: Adam Cohen

Hedberg is the highest seed by 40 factors in platform diving. Indiana is about to go 1-2, with Hedberg and Max Weinrich clearly the strongest divers within the competitors.

Northwestern’s Cohen ought to end fourth. It’s a little bit of a protracted shot for him to get into the highest three, although there’s a probability.

Top Northwestern finisher: 2nd (Schuster-Seymour-Duncan-Kos)

The Hoosiers win one other gold to finish the meet… boring! The thrilling half in regards to the meet’s ultimate occasion is it’s Northwestern’s best relay workforce. Every leg of this Wildcat relay is powerful and I really just like the ‘Cats to leapfrog the second seeded Wolverines and grab silver.

Looze has built a juggernaut in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have won four straight Big Ten titles, and are set to win their fifth this weekend by winning 10 of the meet’s 21 occasions. Really, Indiana does all of it. They not solely have the convention’s prime ranked swimmers on SwimCloud — Sárkány, McDonald and Whitlock — however have 11 of the highest 25. No matter the way you slice it, Indiana guidelines the Big Ten convention, and no workforce has come notably near chipping away at its rule since 2022.

This needs to be a wonderful exhibiting for Stratton-Mills’ Wildcats, who’ve actually put collectively an awesome season in Evanston. Last yr, Northwestern completed seventh of 9 groups. This yr, I consider the ‘Cats can finish fifth, beating out USC and Penn State, its closest challengers. This is a team built with real star power, something that a Northwestern swim team hasn’t had for a very long time. Staples, Seymour and Gerchik ought to all safe podium finishes in particular person occasions, whereas the Schuster-Seymour-Duncan-Kos tandem can seize silver within the 400-yard freestyle relay with a robust swim. What a yr for Northwestern.