MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A complete team effort has the Badgers in a great spot heading into the final day of competition at the Big Ten championships. 

Michael Milinovich, who shined during the 500-yard freestyle event Thursday, showcased his versatility by starring in the 400 individual medley on Friday. 

The sophomore was second-fastest in the morning preliminary session, finishing in 3 minutes, 44.01 seconds — the second-fastest swim in Wisconsin history — and went on to finish fourth in the finals. Cooper Hodge placed 20th, finishing in 3:52.70. 

"That race is going to be really close to qualifying for NCAAs, so we're very excited about that," UW head coach Whitney Hite said. 

Freshman MJ Mao opened the finals with a 47.19-second swim in the 100 fly, good for a 16th-place finish. Mao also set a personal best during prelims, sprinting to a 46.95 finish, the fifth-fastest swim in Badgers history. 

Mao added another top-10 all-time performance in the 100 breast, finishing in 53.48, the fifth-fastest by a Badger. 

Another freshman, Matt Novinski, sprinted to a seventh-place finish in the 100 backstroke final (47.12) after setting a personal-best time of 46.85 during prelims, the fourth-fastest swim in school history. 

During prelims, Cameron Tysoe (47.55) and Todd McCarthy (48.07) also earned top-10 times in school history. 

The 200 freestyle saw three Badgers finish in the top 10 and five finish in the top 15. Ryan Stack (seventh, 1:35.52), Anthony Lyons (ninth, 1:36.07), Victor Goicoechea (10th, 1:36.14), Griffin Back (14th, 1:36.73) and Tysoe (15th, 1:37.30) highlighted an event dominated by Wisconsin. 

Ido Haber (20th, 1:37.07) and Kevin Braun (24th, 1:37.25) also had strong showings, bringing the total to seven Badgers competing in the 200 free final. 

"To put seven people into the 200 free final — with seven out of 24 in the final heat being Badgers — that was pretty impressive," Hite said. "When I first got in to coaching, my college coach Eddie Reiss, of Texas, said, 'The strength of your team is the 200 free.' We've made that a point of pride at Wisconsin. 

"It's kind of like the offensive line with our football team. It's something that we develop and take a lot of pride in, and today you saw the results." 

Day 3 concluded with a sixth-place finish in the 200 free relay (1:20.84). Tyler Zelen, Stack, Kevin Braun and Back capped off a solid day for Wisconsin. 

Kevin Pomery made some noise on the boards for the Badgers. He qualified for the 3-meter diving finals, scoring a season-high and personal-best score of 363.60, good for 16th place. 

"Kevin really stepped up for us," Hite said. "That was a great performance by him, especially in a diving conference like this. He would have taken third in the Pac-12." 

After three days of competition, Wisconsin is just a half point out of fifth place. The sixth-place Badgers have put up 479.5 points, trailing first-place Indiana (1,090.5), Michigan (1,080), Ohio State (870), Purdue (540) and Minnesota (480). 

"We're in a dogfight," Hite said. "We're within striking range, and if we have another morning like we had this morning we'll have a shot." 

Up Next 

The Big Ten Championships conclude Saturday. Prelims open the day at 11 a.m. and will be followed by finals at 6:30 p.m.