Big Ten Men’s Championships, Day 2: Owen McDonald Posts Sub-1:40 Performance in 200 IM as Indiana Leads

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Indiana's Owen McDonald -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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Big Ten Men’s Championships, Day 2: Owen McDonald Posts Sub-1:40 Performance in 200 IM as Indiana Leads

The Big Ten Men’s Championships began Wednesday evening with Indiana taking a narrow lead over USC, Michigan and Ohio State. The Hoosiers then extended the margin in Thursday evening’s session as Owen McDonald posted the country’s second sub-1:40 performance in the 200 IM. His teammate Zalan Sarkany was the winner of the 500 freestyle while Ohio State’s Matthew Klinge finished first in the 50 free.

Later in the Thursday evening session, Indiana finished 1-3 in 1-meter diving before Michigan came out on top in the the 200 free relay. By the end of Thursday evening, Indiana had built a comfortable lead with 526 points, with Michigan just ahead of Ohio State for second place (419.5-413). USC (281) and Wisconsin (272) rounded out the top five.

500 Freestyle

The first individual final of the meet saw Indiana’s Zalan Sarkany lead wire-to-wire and capture the conference title. Sarkany, the reigning NCAA champion in the 1650-yard event from his time at Arizona State, has yet to post any exceptional times in the 20-lap event this season, but here he moved into the national top-16 with a mark of 4:11.62. In 2024, Sarkany had a best mark of 4:09.19, the fourth-best time posted all season, although he fell to 12th at the NCAA Championships.

Michigan’s Eduardo Moreas trailed Minnesota’s Bar Soloveychik for much of the race, but he moved ahead in the final 100 yards to claim second place by 11-hundredths, 4:12.72 to 4:12.83. The Wolverines got an additional points boost from Lorne Wigginton taking fourth (4:15.25).

Event 3  Men 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 4:09.29  2/22/2018 Felix O Auboeck, Michigan
         POOL: $ 4:07.37  3/23/2023 Hobson, Luke, Texas
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals        
==================================================================
                        === A - Final ===                         
 
  1 Sarkany, Zalan         JR Ind               4:13.41    4:11.62  
             22.87        47.72 (24.85)
        1:12.82 (25.10)     1:38.13 (25.31)
        2:03.59 (25.46)     2:29.20 (25.61)
        2:54.97 (25.77)     3:20.90 (25.93)
        3:46.73 (25.83)     4:11.62 (24.89)
  2 Moraes, Eduardo        JR MICH              4:13.93    4:12.72  
             23.67        48.96 (25.29)
        1:14.28 (25.32)     1:39.76 (25.48)
        2:05.17 (25.41)     2:30.71 (25.54)
        2:56.20 (25.49)     3:21.80 (25.60)
        3:47.27 (25.47)     4:12.72 (25.45)
  3 Soloveychik, Bar       SR MINN              4:13.92    4:12.83  
             23.06        47.87 (24.81)
        1:13.17 (25.30)     1:38.60 (25.43)
        2:04.14 (25.54)     2:29.90 (25.76)
        2:55.75 (25.85)     3:21.68 (25.93)
        3:47.55 (25.87)     4:12.83 (25.28)
  4 Wigginton, Lorne       FR MICH              4:15.72    4:15.25  
             23.31        48.85 (25.54)
        1:14.54 (25.69)     1:40.40 (25.86)
        2:06.52 (26.12)     2:32.95 (26.43)
        2:58.76 (25.81)     3:24.36 (25.60)
        3:49.57 (25.21)     4:15.25 (25.68)
  5 Staples, Joshua        FR NU                4:15.83    4:17.56  
             23.10        48.74 (25.64)
        1:14.87 (26.13)     1:41.32 (26.45)
        2:08.08 (26.76)     2:34.31 (26.23)
        3:00.85 (26.54)     3:27.46 (26.61)
        3:53.52 (26.06)     4:17.56 (24.04)
  6 Edmund, Mason          JR OSU               4:16.64    4:17.60  
             23.61        49.07 (25.46)
        1:14.98 (25.91)     1:41.13 (26.15)
        2:07.32 (26.19)     2:33.51 (26.19)
        2:59.28 (25.77)     3:25.53 (26.25)
        3:52.12 (26.59)     4:17.60 (25.48)
  7 Tepper, Joseph         5Y MINN              4:16.30    4:17.83  
             23.40        48.90 (25.50)
        1:14.69 (25.79)     1:40.68 (25.99)
        2:06.68 (26.00)     2:32.92 (26.24)
        2:59.61 (26.69)     3:26.38 (26.77)
        3:52.54 (26.16)     4:17.83 (25.29)
  8 Aslan, Yigit           SR WISC              4:16.95    4:19.47  
             23.45        48.92 (25.47)
        1:14.78 (25.86)     1:41.04 (26.26)
        2:07.28 (26.24)     2:33.58 (26.30)
        2:59.83 (26.25)     3:26.57 (26.74)
        3:53.36 (26.79)     4:19.47 (26.11)

200 IM

A second Hoosier who transferred last offseason from Arizona State got a Big Ten win as Owen McDonald recorded the country’s second-fastest time in the 200 IM. McDonald jumped out to a significant lead in the front half of the event, splitting 45.23 at the halfway point to lead by more than a second. The field closed in after that, with Indiana teammate Luke Barr leading the way with his 28.95 split, but McDonald never gave up the lead as he finished in 1:39.89.

That time broke the Big Ten meet record of 1:40.48 established by Michigan’s Gal Groumi last season, and McDonald joined Florida’s Julian Smith as the only sub-1:40 performers in the event this season. Challengers await at the national level, with defending national champion and American-record holder Destin Lasco having yet to record any elite marks this season, but McDonald is in good position as he tries to match or attempt his national runnerup result from last year. He owns a best time of 1:39.23, established last March.

Groumi passed Barr on the freestyle leg to claim second in 1:40.34, good for No. 3 in the national rankings. Barr was third in 1:40.62, just ahead of Michigan’s Colin Geer (1:40.65), and those times rank fifth and sixth in the country, respectively. Just behind was Ohio State’s Tristan Jankovics (1:41.09).

Event 4  Men 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 1:40.48  2/29/2024 Gal Cohen Groumi, Michigan
         POOL: $ 1:36.34  3/23/2023 Marchand, Leon, Arizona State
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals        
==================================================================
                        === A - Final ===                         
 
  1 McDonald, Owen         JR Ind               1:40.68    1:39.89! 
             20.78        45.23 (24.45)
        1:15.15 (29.92)     1:39.89 (24.74)
  2 Groumi, Gal            SR MICH              1:41.70    1:40.34! 
             21.53        46.48 (24.95)
        1:15.77 (29.29)     1:40.34 (24.57)
  3 Barr, Luke             SR Ind               1:41.08    1:40.62  
             21.74        46.65 (24.91)
        1:15.60 (28.95)     1:40.62 (25.02)
  4 Geer, Colin            SO MICH              1:41.13    1:40.65  
             21.84        46.61 (24.77)
        1:16.10 (29.49)     1:40.65 (24.55)
  5 Jankovics, Tristan     JR OSU               1:41.78    1:41.09  
             22.21        47.22 (25.01)
        1:16.67 (29.45)     1:41.09 (24.42)
  6 Lu, Tyler              SR NU                1:43.08    1:42.49  
             23.10        49.21 (26.11)
        1:18.44 (29.23)     1:42.49 (24.05)
  7 Knedla, Miroslav       FR Ind               1:42.35    1:42.67  
             21.64        47.68 (26.04)
        1:17.43 (29.75)     1:42.67 (25.24)
  8 Ben-Shitrit, Eitan     JR MICH              1:42.97    1:43.00  
             22.06        48.26 (26.20)
        1:17.66 (29.40)     1:43.00 (25.34)

50 Freestyle

Ohio State earned a victory in the 50 free as freshman Matt Klinge blasted a mark of 18.78 to defeat Michigan’s Tyler Ray by five hundredths. Klinge was more than two tenths back of Ray at the halfway point while sitting in seventh place, but he came home in 9.54 to secure the conference title. Klinge now sits just outside of the national top-eight in the event.

Ray was second in 18.83 while Indiana’s Matt King, a U.S. Olympian who joined the Hoosiers this year, took third in 18.92. Ohio State’s Daniel Baltes also had a strong result in the top heat, breaking 19 to finish fourth (18.96).

Event 5  Men 50 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 18.69  2/22/2018 Bowen Becker, Minnesota
         POOL: $ 17.63  3/22/2018 Dressel, Caeleb, Florida
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals        
==================================================================
                        === A - Final ===                         
 
  1 Klinge, Matthew        FR OSU                 18.84      18.78  
              9.24         18.78 (9.54)
  2 Ray, Tyler             JR MICH                19.08      18.83  
              9.02         18.83 (9.81)
  3 King, Matthew          JR Ind                 19.10      18.92  
              9.10         18.92 (9.82)
  4 Baltes, Daniel         SR OSU                 18.96      18.96  
              9.33         18.96 (9.63)
  5 Szabados, Bence        5Y MICH                19.10      19.06  
              9.05        19.06 (10.01)
  6 Brooks, Finlay         SR Ind                 19.12      19.12  
              9.08        19.12 (10.04)
  7 McDonald, Mario        5Y OSU                 18.97      19.13  
              9.19         19.13 (9.94)
  8 Seymour, Stuart        SO NU                  19.22      19.26  
              9.14        19.26 (10.12)

1-Meter Diving

The Indiana diving machine went to work in the 1-meter event as Quinn Henninger took down the Big Ten meet record with his score of 414.84 and teammate Carson Tyler placed third (393.30). In the same event at last year’s NCAA Championships, the two divers second and third, respectively. USC’s Moritz Wesemann split the difference in second place (396.90).

Event 6  Men 1 mtr Diving
==================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 493.60  2/22/2018 Michael Hixon, Indiana
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals        
==================================================================
                        === A - Final ===                         
 
  1 Henniger, Quinn           Ind                379.65     414.85  
  2 Wesemann, Moritz       GR USC                392.35     396.90  
  3 Tyler, Carson             Ind                387.05     393.30  
  4 Miller, Max            SO PUR                335.45     392.60  
  5 Rzepka, Jordan         SR PUR                338.70     381.30   
  6 Welsh, Zach            FR PUR                340.65     375.40  
  7 Chaplin, Clay          SR OSU                334.40     359.85  
  8 Wang, Shangfei         SR USC                327.60     309.65

200 Freestyle Relay

Another Big Ten meet record fell at the conclusion of the session as Michigan out-dueled Wisconsin, Ohio State and Indiana for the Wolverines’ first triumph of the competition. Michigan’s team of Bence Szabados, Tyler Ray, Colin Geer and Jack Wilkening came in at 1:14.83, a time which ranks No. 5 in the country. Ray had the fastest split in the field at 18.35, and Wilkening came home in 18.53 to pass Wisconsin and secure the win.

The Badgers’ team of Taiko Torepe-Ormsby, Cooper Scharff, Ben Wiegand and Christopher Morris placed second in 1:15.02, and Ohio State’s Matt Klinge, Daniel Baltes, Mario McDonald and Tomas Navikonis took third in 1:15.19. Both teams were under the existing meet record of 1:15.28. Torepe-Ormsby edged Klinge, the individual 50 free winner earlier in the session, by nine hundredths on the leadoff leg before Baltes impressed with an 18.50 second leg, but Wiegand went 18.56 on leg No. 3 to put his team in the lead. Wilkening came through for Michigan to get the win, but Wisconsin did hang on for the runnerup spot.

Indiana’s Mikkel Lee, Owen McDonald, Finn Brooks and Matt King placed fourth in 1:15.33, marking the second consecutive free relay in which Indiana has placed outside the top-three, but the Hoosiers’ strength in other events has given the team a comfortable lead in the team competition.

Event 7  Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
====================================================================
     B1G Meet: ! 1:15.28  2/25/2022 Ohio State
                          J Armstrong, S Andreis, A Quach, R Gaziev
         POOL: $ 1:13.35  3/23/2023 University of Florida, Flori
                          Liendo, Chaney, Friese, McDuff
    School                                 Seed     Finals        
====================================================================
  1 MICH  'A'                           1:16.00    1:14.83! 
     1) Szabados, Bence 5Y            2) r:0.22 Ray, Tyler JR         
     3) r:0.20 Geer, Colin SO         4) r:0.42 Wilkening, Jack JR    
    r:+0.63  19.07        37.42 (18.35)
          56.30 (18.88)     1:14.83 (18.53)
  2 WISC  'A'                           1:17.43    1:15.02! 
     1) Torepe-Ormsby, Taiko JR       2) r:0.29 Scharff, Cooper JR    
     3) r:0.17 Wiegand, Ben SR        4) r:0.09 Morris, Christopher SR
    r:+0.65  18.81        37.57 (18.76)
          56.13 (18.56)     1:15.02 (18.89)
  3 OSU  'A'                            1:15.84    1:15.19! 
     1) Klinge, Matthew FR            2) r:0.30 Baltes, Daniel SR     
     3) r:0.27 McDonald, Mario 5Y     4) r:0.51 Navikonis, Tomas JR   
    r:+0.72  18.88        37.38 (18.50)
          56.37 (18.99)     1:15.19 (18.82)
  4 Ind  'A'                            1:16.23    1:15.33  
     1) Lee, Mikkel Jun Jie SO        2) r:0.22 McDonald, Owen JR     
     3) r:0.26 Brooks, Finlay SR      4) r:0.29 King, Matthew JR      
    r:+0.59  19.17        37.98 (18.81)
          56.73 (18.75)     1:15.33 (18.60)
  5 USC  'A'                            1:17.06    1:16.40  
     1) Dillingham, Diggory FR        2) r:0.15 Maurer, Luke 5Y       
     3) r:0.26 Sogaard-Anderseiver FR 4) r:0.21 Selin, Artem SR       
    r:+0.64  19.21        38.26 (19.05)
          57.15 (18.89)     1:16.40 (19.25)
  6 PUR  'A'                            1:17.84    1:17.44  
     1) Thomas, Nathaniel SO          2) Samuels, Braden SR           
     3) Muhammad, Idris SR            4) Kelly, Andrew JR             
             19.87        38.65 (18.78)
          57.76 (19.11)     1:17.44 (19.68)
  7 MINN  'A'                           1:18.77    1:17.59  
     1) Johnson, Jacob FR             2) Neverman, Kaiser 5Y          
     3) Stowe, Casey 5Y               4) Harabagiu, Davide SO         
             19.62        38.77 (19.15)
          58.07 (19.30)     1:17.59 (19.52)
  8 NU  'A'                             1:18.99    1:17.79  
     1) Seymour, Stuart SO            2) Duncan, Caden SO             
     3) Schuster, Connor SO           4) Gerchik, David SO            
             19.68        39.06 (19.38)
          58.16 (19.10)     1:17.79 (19.63)
  8 PSU  'A'                            1:17.77    1:17.79  
     1) Baganha, Victor SR            2) r:0.20 Morley, Cooper JR     
     3) r:0.14 Harvey, Jack SR        4) r:0.23 Kim, Tylor SO         
    r:+0.59  19.54        38.73 (19.19)
          58.21 (19.48)     1:17.79 (19.58)
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