The Big Ten announced the 2017 Big Ten Men’s Swimmer of the Championships, Diver of the Championships and Freshman of the Year awards. Indiana’s Vini Lanza was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships, while Michigan’s Felix Auböck was voted Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Indiana’s Michael Hixon secured Big Ten Diver of the Championships after earning Big Ten titles in the one- and three-meter diving events at the Big Ten Championships Feb. 22-25.
Lanza earned Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships after collecting two individual Big Ten titles and two relay titles at last week’s Big Ten Championships. The sophomore touched first in the 200-yard individual medley, while also securing the title in the 200-yard butterfly. He also contributed to first-place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard medley relay.
Auböck claimed Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors after winning a pair of Big Ten titles in Columbus last week. The freshman claimed the 500-yard freestyle gold, touching first in a Big Ten Championship record time of 4:10.63. His mark was also the fastest time in the NCAA this season. Auböck recorded another NCAA top-time in the 1,650-yard freestyle, finishing in an A-cut time of 14:29.25 – a full three seconds ahead of the second-fastest swim this season.
Hixon was named Big Ten Diver of the Championships after securing titles in both springboard diving events. The junior shattered the Big Ten Championships record in each of his diving victories, scoring a total of 488.65 in the one-meter and 520.40 points in the three-meter. Diver of the Championships is awarded to the diver who scores the most team points in his best two events.
Big Ten Swimmer and Diver of the Year and Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year will be announced following the NCAA Championships.
The complete 2017 All-Big Ten Teams and Sportsmanship Award honorees are listed below.
2017 Big Ten Individual Honors
Swimmer of the Championships: Vini Lanza, Indiana
Diver of the Championships: Michael Hixon, Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Felix Auböck, Michigan
First Team
Marwan El Kamash, Indiana
Ian Finnerty, Indiana
Robert Glover, Indiana
Michael Hixon, Indiana
Ali Khalafalla, Indiana
Vini Lanza, Indiana
Blake Pieroni, Indiana
Mohamed Samy, Indiana
Anze Tavcar, Indiana
Felix Auboeck, Michigan
Paul Powers, Michigan
Charlie Swanson, Michigan
Mossimo Chavez, Ohio State
Joshua Fleagle, Ohio State
Matt McHugh, Ohio State
Thomas Trace, Ohio State
Shane Ryan, Penn State
Marat Amaltdinov, Purdue
Steele Johnson, Purdue
Second Team
Christopher Klein, Michigan
Jacob Montaque, Michigan
Tristan Sanders, Michigan
Vincent Tafuto, Michigan
Jakub Maly, Minnesota
Jordan Wilimovsky, Northwestern
Jack Barone, Ohio State
Noah Lense, Ohio State
Andrew Loy, Ohio State
Colin Zeng, Ohio State
Cannon Clifton, Wisconsin
Matthew Hutchins, Wisconsin
Brett Pinfold, Wisconsin
Ryan Stack, Wisconsin
Sportsmanship Honorees
Bob Glover, Indiana
Kenneth Mende, Iowa
Jackson Goethe, Michigan
Adam Henley, Michigan State
Noah Busch, Minnesota
Stephen Shull, Northwestern
Joey Long, Ohio State
Matt Stasiunas, Penn State
Alex Toetz, Purdue
Harrison Tran, Wisconsin
Press release courtesy of the B1G conference.
