MEN BEGIN CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON WITH BIG TEN MEET 
The No. 16 Wisconsin men's swimming and diving team heads to West Lafayette, Indiana, for the 2016 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, which begin Wednesday night at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. 
The Badgers are led by reigning Big Ten champion in the 500-yard freestyle, Matt Hutchins, who this season leads the conference field in a trio of distance events heading into the championship meet. 

2016 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Date	Wednesday-Sunday  |  Prelims (10 a.m.) / Finals (5:30 p.m.)
Location	West Lafayette, Ind.  |  Boilermaker Aquatic Center
Watch	BTN2GO  |  Tape Delay: BTN, Feb. 29
Follow	Live Results  |  Twitter
More Info	Big Ten Championships Central Page
Notes	Wisconsin  |  Big Ten Conference

Hutchins leads the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4 minutes, 15.64 seconds by a narrow margin of less than two seconds to Indiana's Max Irwin (4:17.19) and ranks fifth nationally in the event. However, the UW junior's time in the 1000-yard freestyle stands atop the Big Ten by over eight seconds (8:58.45) and ranks fourth on the national stage. 

Hutchins also leads the Big Ten in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 14:38.14, while the next closest competitor is Patrick Ransford of Michigan, who holds a time of 14:47.77. Hutchins time in the distance events also leads the country this year. 

Fellow junior Cannon Clifton also holds a trio of top-10 rankings in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. Clifton is fifth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 19.96 seconds, while Michigan's Paul Powers leads the field with a time of 19.15 seconds. 

Clifton ranks fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43.32, while Indiana's Anze Tavcar is first by less than a second (42.88). The UW freestyle specialist is seventh in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:35.75. 

The pair of Hutchins (1:35.77) and Brett Pinfold (1:35.81) follow Clifton in the 200-yard freestyle in eight and ninth place, respectively. 

The trio of Austin Byrd, Pinfold, and Todd McCarthy look to have a significant showing in the backstroke events for the Badgers. 

Byrd ranks sixth in the 100-yard event with a time of 47.32 seconds, while Pinfold is eighth (47.41). In the 200-yard backstroke, Byrd holds a third-place rank (1:42.47), while Pinfold is tied for sixth place (1:44.38) with Indiana's James Beckman and McCarthy is ninth (1:44.49). Indiana's Robert Glover leads the event with a time of 1:42.02. 

Byrd also ranks sixth in the 100-yard butterfly for the Badgers with a time of 47.71 seconds. Harrison Tran is 11th in the event (48.11), while Clifton is 12th (48.13). 
Tran holds a seventh-place rank in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:46.15 as well. 

In the 200-yard breaststroke, senior Jake Mandli holds a fifth-place rank with a time of 1:58.92. Indiana's Tanner Kurz leads the field with a mark of 1:54.35. 

The Badgers have strong representation in the individual medley events, as Pinfold ranks fifth (1:46.60) and Byrd is 10th (1:47.66) in the 200-yard individual medley. Michigan's Evan White leads the Big Ten with a time of 1:44.37. 

Josh Anderson is sixth in the 400-yard individual medley (3:50.25), while McCarthy is 11th (3:52.66). 

UW holds top-four ranks in three different relays, including a conference-leading time in the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:24.36). Wisconsin is second in the 400-yard freestyle relay (2:55.50) and fourth in the 400-yard medley relay (3:13.41). 

The championship meet begins Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. (CT) with finals of the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relay. Swimming preliminaries begin 10 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Fans can stream the meet live with BTN Plus via BTN2Go.