Every year, the Big Ten swim and dive championships demand big-time performances. Tenths of a second can be the difference between scoring first-place’s 32 points and last-place’s 1 point. 

Last season, USC rose to the occasion and finished fourth place in its Big Ten championship debut. However, that success wasn’t replicated this year. 

With the absence of talented athletes due to schedule conflicts and the team’s bus breaking down on the way to Madison, Wisconsin, where the meet was held, the No. 15 Trojans (4-5, 0-1 Big Ten) slipped down to seventh — but not without numerous standout swims.

“I was really proud that we were able to stay where our feet were, stay in the moment and rebound,” said Head Coach Lea Maurer regarding their difficulties in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We reset every session, and if people didn’t make it back, they were great on the bench. They got back to work and were getting ready and hungry for what’s next.” 

Chmielewski, other swimmers excel 

Junior Michal Chmielewski was undoubtedly the team’s top performer: He was single-handedly responsible for more than 10% of the Trojans’ final score, totaling 78 points across three championship final appearances. 

He kicked off the meet by beating his own program record in the 100 butterfly, then he broke it again in the finals. His third-place time of 44.57 was the 12th fastest time in the nation this year. 

In a display of versatility, Chimelewski went on to place sixth in the 100 backstroke, hitting the wall in 45.20 seconds. Although that performance was slightly slower than what he swam to qualify for the finals, both swims were quicker than he had ever been in the past. 

On the final day, he wrapped up his campaign with a bronze medal showing in the 200 butterfly. He swam to another personal best time of 1:40.19, the second-best time in USC history behind only his twin brother, Krzysztof. 

“He has a tremendous work ethic,” Maurer said of Chimelewski. “He’s always been an incredible long-course swimmer. In short-course college athletics, underwaters and turns are just such a big part of the competition, and he’s made huge progress in that area.”

Michal Chmielewski wasn’t the only Trojan to find success, though: Sophomore Oliver Sogaard-Andersen earned silver in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:32.03. 

Beyond his individual accolade, Sogaard-Andersen was a key part of USC’s three freestyle relays and swam personal bests each time. He led off all three races, helping USC secure seventh place in the 200 free relay, along with fifth-place finishes in both the 400 and 800 relays. 

The medley relays weren’t far behind, as the USC teams in both the 200 and 400 ended up in sixth.

While the Trojans only appeared in five individual championship finals, the team found much success in the consolation “B” finals that determine the ninth through 16th-place finishers. 

Sogaard-Andersen won the consolation final of the 100 free, while Krzysztof Chmielewski swept the consolation finals in the 200 and 500 frees. Chmielewski set a personal best in the former event, recording a 1:32.82 to knock over two seconds off his previous best time. 

Sophomore Junhao Chan, who swam the breaststroke on the medley relays, also made his mark: In the consolation finals, he won the 100 breast and finished as the runner-up in the 200 breast. 

Diving provides a splash of cushion

Senior Laurent Gosselin-Paradis scored 53 points across the three diving events, finishing fifth on the platform and 13th on the 1-meter and 3-meter. The 2025 Second Team All-American tied for third on the team in total points scored, displaying diving’s key role in the overall team race. 

“There’s a camaraderie among diving and swimming,” Maurer said. “Although they’re very different sports … when we’re all competing together, it’s much more unifying and exciting.”

While 2026 marks Gosselin-Paradis’s final season of eligibility, the future of the diving squad looks to be in good hands. Freshman Luc Goertzen scored 34 points in his championship debut, a performance that was highlighted by a 10th-place finish on the platform and a 12th-place showing on the 3-meter. 

Looking ahead to the NCAA Championships, which Maurer called the team’s “North Star,” both Chmielewski brothers will be names to watch. Krzysztof is USC’s only returning swimmer who scored points at the 2025 NCAA Championships and is the reigning World Championship silver medalist in the 200 butterfly. Meanwhile, Michal will look to ride the wave of his Big Ten success into the national championships.

Another likely contributor is Moritz Wesemann, who will return to the boards after competing at the World Diving Cup in Montreal, Canada, during the Big Ten championships. The graduate student captured bronze on the 1-meter at the NCAA’s last year and claimed the 2025 Big Ten title on 3-meter. 

For the swimmers and divers who qualified, the big stage awaits them from March 25 to 28 at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.