University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Championships
Players Mentioned
Gophers Earn Four Conference Honors, Finish Fifth in Men’s Big Tens
3/1/2025 10:48:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota men's swimming and diving program saw a strong finish to the 2025 Big Ten Championships, earning five podium finishes, four Big Ten honors, a medal finish, and fifth place overall.
Freshman Jacob Johnson had a particularly stellar final day of events. He broke the school record in the 200 fly for the fourth-and-fifth times this season, clinching the latest record and a silver medal simultaneously with a 1:40.47 in the finals. Johnson was also honored as a Second Team All-Big Ten selection and to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Joe Polyak was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. In Saturday's events, Polyak placed 5th in the 200 breast with a 'B' cut time of 1:52.67.
Additionally, sophomore diver YuTong Wang was the second Gopher to earn Second-Team All-Big Ten honors. On Friday, Wang earned silver in the 3 meter finals with a score of 424.75.
Bar Soloveychik and Luke Brennan each notched podium finishes in the 1650 free. Soloveychik placed 4th with a time of 14:48.67, and Brennan placed 8th with a time of 14:55.25. Joey Tepper reached a time of 14:56.82 in the same event, placing him at 11th. All three swimmers hit NCAA 'B' cuts.
In the diving well, Drew Bennett secured a podium finish of his own. Bennett racked up a score of 329.20 on the platform.
The 400 free relay squad placed just one spot off the podium with a 9th place finish. The team, made up of Ian Steffen (43.60), Kaiser Neverman (42.13), Casey Stowe (43.27), and Jacob Johnson (44.04), recorded a time of 2:53.04.
Rounding out the 200 fly was Kaiser Neverman, Daniel Eichel, and Alberto Hernandez. Neverman placed 10th with a 'B' cut of 1:43.27, Eichel placed 11th with his own 'B' cut of 1:43.72, and Hernandez finished 10th with a 1:46.29.
Joe Rudd and Max Scheurer finished 11th and 16th, respectively, in the 200 breast. Rudd recorded a 'B' cut time of 1:54.24, and Scheurer finished in 1:56.72.
In the 200 free, Ryan Slonac earned 10th place and Ian Steffen earned 12th. Slonac's time of 1:42.67 and Steffen's 1:42.87 each hit 'B' cut. Casey Stowe took 19th in the event with a 1:44.44.
With 794.5 points, Minnesota finished at fifth place overall. Indiana took the top spot with 1579 points, followed by Michigan with 1148, then Ohio State with 1100.
Members of the Minnesota diving team will compete at the NCAA Zone Diving Regionals from March 10-12 before the program competes at the NCAA Championships March 26-29.
For more information on the Gopher swimming and diving program, fans can continue to use GopherSports.com, as well as follow the teams on X, Instagram, and Facebook.