The Indiana men’s team not only won, but captured its fifth straight conference championship, continuing its swimming and diving dynasty in Bloomington. The Michigan women’s soccer team was at the top of the league and won the championship thanks to the authority and balance of its roster.
Records continued to drop all week long, and this year’s Big Ten Tournament featured some of the best performances in conference history.
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Here are the key takeaways from this year’s Big Ten swimming and diving championships.
Indiana pulls away from Michigan for fifth straight title
The Indiana men’s team continues their dominance in the pool in 2026, extending their Big 10 dynasty.
Throughout, the Hoosiers showcased a wealth of experience and elite talent. Indiana won ten different events, including two relays and six different individual titles.
Indiana dominated the long distance events this week, winning the 400-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle titles. Senior Zalan Sarkany dominated the distance freestyle event, while freshman Josh Bey started the meet with a win in the 400-yard individual medley.
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He is the second-highest scorer in the tournament behind Michigan senior Tyler Ray. The senior won Big 10 titles in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard IM.
Senior Kai Van Westering and junior Dylan Smiley ended the week with wins on the Indians’ final night of play. Van Westering won the 200-yard backstroke and Dylan Smiley won the 100-yard freestyle before leading Indiana to victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay to end the meet.
In addition to its individual stars, the Indians swam in the top eight in every event, showcasing balance not only in the long distance events, but also in the sprint and middle distance events. Indiana’s performance combined stability and stability to keep the swimmers in control from the first event to the final relay.
The win marked Indiana’s 32nd Big 10 title, second all-time behind Michigan State. Head coach Ray Looze won his ninth men’s Big Ten title, moving him into the top five all-time in league history.
The Indians have once again positioned themselves as one of the nation’s elite teams, ready to challenge for another top-three finish in the NCAA Tournament in March.
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Michigan women continue to build momentum
The Michigan women’s team leaves Minneapolis with its first Big 10 championship since 2018 and its 18th in franchise history, the most in league history.
The Michigan women’s team began the season ranked No. 10, one spot behind Big Ten rival Indiana. Since December, they have finished in the top four and cemented themselves as one of the best teams in the country.
“We have a really good team this year,” senior tells Yahoo Sports. “We’ve been working hard and improving all season. When the B1G comes, we’ll be ready.”
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As a team, Michigan won eight individual events, took first place in four of the five relay events and earned medals in five additional events.
Leading the charge for the Wolverines. The junior transfer won two of her three individual swim meets and was named the championship swimmer, the first since Michigan State Three wins from 2020-22.
As a team, Michigan named eight of its 17 athletes to the All-Big Ten Conference first team. Along with Sims, eight-time Big 10 champion Eight-time Big 10 champion five-time Big 10 champion and five-time Big 10 champion Lead the way for the Wolverines.
Michigan will now turn its attention to the NCAA Tournament in March, where the team will try to improve on its ninth-place finish in 2025.
Welcome to the Top 10, Bella Sims
Bella Sims found her groove in Ann Arbor.
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Sims competed in seven Big Ten Conference finals, including the 200-yard and 400-yard IM, the 100-yard backstroke and four relays. She finished with five gold medals and two silver medals.
In his first two years of collegiate swimming, Sims won three NCAA championships, was selected to the All-American team 13 times and won nine SEC championships. However, all three of her NCAA titles came during her freshman season at the University of Florida.
The Las Vegas native represented the United States at the Olympics and World Championships and transferred to Michigan State to finish her college career.
Now, Sims is heading into her third NCAA championship game with good momentum. Although Sims has yet to reach her personal best this season, she will lead the Michigan women’s team to new heights in 2026.
“Bella Sims is a great swimmer and an even better person,” Kitchel said. “Obviously she helps our team score, but she’s a light on the deck and it’s a joy to train with her every day.”
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Sims encountered few lows during his week in Minneapolis. she lowest She finished second in the 100-yard backstroke, but was beaten by Wisconsin’s Maggie Wanezek by 0.03 seconds.
There is no doubt that when Sims ends her Wolverine career, she will go down as one of the best players in Big Ten history.
Top 10 records broken
In the men’s and women’s competition, 2026 set six Big Ten records. Additionally, 16 competition records were broken during the two weeks of Championship Week.
On the women’s side, Michigan State set two conference records in the 200-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays. Kendall and Berard achieved good results in the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly events respectively.
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Six other event records were broken, including Michigan State’s 200- and 400-yard medley relays and Sims’ 400-yard medley relay. Indiana’s Liberty Clark broke the meet record in the 100-yard freestyle and Wanezek added another in the 200-yard backstroke. Indiana ends the week with a record-setting 400-yard freestyle relay.
The men’s all-conference set a total of nine records, including two conference records and seven additional conference records.
michigan senior Tyra Ray He broke 44 seconds in the 100-yard fly, setting a Big 10 record with a time of 43.83 seconds, making him the tenth-fastest player in history. Ray also broke the meet record in the 200-yard butterfly in his last Big 10 meet.
Indiana freshman Josh Bey Shaving 7 seconds off the 400 yard IM to win the title and break the meet record. Bay entered the race with a time of 3:43.34 and finished in 3:34.90.
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The other four meet records came from Michigan freshman Luka Mladenovic (200-yard breaststroke), Indiana senior Zaran Salkani (500- and 1,650-yard freestyle) and the Ohio State men’s 800-yard freestyle relay.
After two weeks of quick training, the top athletes from the Big 10 appear ready to compete in the NCAA Tournament in March.
Full team results
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