The Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the campus of the Purdue University will play host to the 2016 Big Ten Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships, which will begin Wednesday, Feb. 24 and conclude Saturday, Feb. 27. Timed finals of the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay will take place on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET. Competition will then begin at 11 a.m., Thursday through Saturday with preliminary heats, while finals will be held at 6:30 p.m. each night.
Thursday’s schedule features the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle and one-meter diving event, while the 400-yard medley relay will be contested during the evening finals. Friday’s slate includes the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and three-meter diving competition, with the 200-yard freestyle relay held in the evening. Saturday’s schedule features the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly, 1,650-yard freestyle and platform diving event, while the 400-yard freestyle relay will be held that evening.
Michigan won its fifth consecutive Big Ten Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship and 39th overall last season. Ohio State finished second, followed by No. 3 Indiana, fourth-place Purdue, No. 5 Wisconsin, sixth-place Minnesota, No. 7 Penn State and eighth-place Iowa. Northwestern and Michigan State finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
The Wolverines return two individual winners looking to defend their titles. Dylan Bosch will seek his second straight titles in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley events, while also vying for his fourth consecutive 200-yard butterfly crown. Teammate Paul Powers will aim to win the 50-yard freestyle for the second consecutive year.
Also returning this year are Ohio State’s Matt McHugh and Wisconsin’s Matthew Hutchins, who are looking to earn their second consecutive titles in the 100-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle, respectively.
Last season, Michigan swept the relay events, while Indiana earned gold-medal honors in all diving events.
BTN will air tape-delayed coverage of the Big Ten Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 29.
Follow all the Big Ten Championships action at bigten.org and on Twitter @bigtenchamps.