University of Minnesota Athletics

Friday, February 24
Ann Arbor, Mich.
9 AM (Prelims), 4 PM (Finals)

University of Minnesota

at

Big Ten Championships

Players Mentioned

Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Butterfly/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Sprint Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Backstroke/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Butterfly
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke/Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Butterfly/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Sprint Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke/Butterfly/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Max McHugh Big Ten Championship 100 Breast

McHugh Wins Fourth Straight 100 Breast Crown

2/24/2023 8:22:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving

MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota fifth-year senior captain Max McHugh made history by capturing his fourth straight title in the 100 breast at the Big Ten Championships Friday night in Ann Arbor, Mich.

McHugh, who was the top seed after finishing first in the prelims with a time of 51.59, led wire-to-wire in the finals with a season-best time of 50.80. He was .52 ahead of the second-place finisher and notched his first automatic qualifying time of the season for the NCAA Championships, which will be held at Minnesota's Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center next month.

McHugh, who owns the 21 fastest times in the 100 breast for Minnesota since 2009-10, joins Indiana's Ian Finnerty (2016-19) as the only male swimmers in Big Ten history to win four straight 100 breast titles. In total, McHugh becomes the 18th male, and first Gopher, to win four consecutive Big Ten swimming championships in a single event.

In addition to his four 100 breast crowns, McHugh is the two-time defending champion in the 200 breast. He will go for the three-peat Saturday as he looks to break a tie with Steve Jackman for the most individual Big Ten championships in Minnesota men's swimming history.
Along with McHugh, two other Gophers reached the 'A' final of their respective events. One night after taking silver in the 500 free, sophomore Bar Soloveychik finished sixth in the 200 free with a time of 1:34.83, his second fastest of the season. 

Additional success came for the Gophers in the 200 free as sophomore Chris Morris won the 'B' final in 1:35:40, while junior Kaiser Neverman was victorious in the 'C' final with a personal record time of 1:36.09.

Also reaching the 'A' final was junior William Christenson, who finished eighth in the 400 IM at 3:47.23. Junior Cameron Linder placed 16th at 3:51.20, while freshman Alberto Hernandez recorded the ninth-best mark in program history as he won the 'C' final in 3:47.90.

Senior captain Desmon Sachtjen earned an 11th-place finish in the 100 back with his time of 46.95, while junior Casey Stowe wasn't far behind at 47.20 in 13th. In the 'C' final, junior Matt McDonald posted a career-best 47.75 to move into a tie for 12th on the Gophers' all-time list.

Two Gophers reached the 'C' final of the 100 fly. McDonald posted his third fastest time of the season at 47.81 to take 19th, while senior Shane Rozeboom equaled his performance from the prelims as he finished 20th in 48.34.

Minnesota closed out the evening by placing sixth in the 200 free relay. Redshirt junior Lucas Farrar (19.73), Neverman (19.20), Stowe (19.82) and Morris (19.83) tallied a season-best time of 1:18.58.

In diving, freshman Drew Bennett finished 16th in the 3-meter prelims but climbed three spots in the consolation final to take 13th with a score of 346.15.

As a team, Minnesota is currently in fifth place with 516 points. Indiana leads the competition with 1030.5 points, followed by Ohio State (924.5), host-Michigan (806) and Wisconsin (665.5).

The Big Ten Championships conclude Saturday with a schedule of the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving and 400 free relay.
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Saturday, March 01
YuTong Wang Wins 2024 Big Ten 1M Title
Monday, March 04
Max McHugh Wins Two B1G Titles
Monday, February 27
Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center
Saturday, May 21