Desmon Sachtjen

Photo by: Dave Wegiel

Photo by: Bjorn Franke

Class:
Senior
Position:
Backstroke
Hometown:
Lodi, Wis.
High School:
Sauk Prairie HS

PRONUNCIATION

Career Notes

Holds school record in 200 Back (1:41.11)
Also ranks third in team history for the 100 back (46.60) and 12th for the 200 IM (1:46.24)

Career Honors and Awards

2x CSCAA Second Team Scholar All-American (2022-23)
2023 CSC Academic All-District honoree
4x Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2021-24)
Named Outstanding Student-Athlete (GPA of 3.50+) at 2024 team banquet
Garnered Hardest Worker and Outstanding Student-Athlete Award (GPA of 3.50+) honors at 2023 team banquet
Winner of Hardest Worker Award, Most Improved Award, Iron Fish Award (going above and beyond in performance training), Jerry McCaul Award (enthusiasm and dedication to the sport) and Outstanding Student-Athlete Award (GPA of 3.50+) at 2022 team banquet
Named Most Improved by team at 2021 team banquet

2023-24 Graduate Season: Team captain... Academic All-Big Ten honoree... Named Outstanding Student-Athlete (GPA of 3.50+) at team banquet... Last Chance Meet: came in second in the 200 back (1:43.63)... Big Tens: finished 15th in the 200 back (1:43.78), 22nd in the 200 IM (1:46.73) and 28th in the 100 back (47.77)... Purdue/Northwestern Tri-Dual: placed second in the 200 back (1:44.92), sixth in the 200 IM (1:50.03) and eighth in the 100 back (48.52)... Pitt Dual: captured second in the 200 back (1:49.49), fifth in the 100 back (49.95) and seventh in the 200 IM (1:53.76)... Tampa Dual: had a second-place finish in the 200 back (1:49.61) and fourth-place finish in the 100 back (50.68)... Minnesota Invite: came in 14th in the 200 back (1:46.90), 18th in the 100 back (48.89) and 24th in the 200 IM (1:50.20)... Wisconsin Dual: placed fifth in the 100 back (49.64) and sixth in the 200 back (1:49.89)... St. Thomas/South Dakota State Tri-Dual: got second in the 100 back (50.14) and sixth in the 200 IM (2:00.01)... SMU Dual: had a second-place finish in the 200 back (1:45.40)... Nebraska/South Dakota Tri-Dual: won the 200 back (1:49.64)

2022-23 Senior Season: Team captain ... CSC Academic All-District honoree ... Academic All-Big Ten honoree ... garnered Hardest Worker and Outstanding Student-Athlete Award (GPA of 3.50+) honors at team banquet... Big Tens: came in seventh in the 200 back (1:42.64), 11th in the 100 back (46.95) and 19th in the 200 IM (1:46.24); also part of the 400 medley relay that came in fourth (3:07.01) ... swam a school-record 1:41.11 in the 200 back prelims ... Northwestern/Purdue Tri-Dual: took first in the 200 back (1:43.01), second in the 100 back (47.49) and fifth in the 200 IM (1:48.81); also part of the 200 medley relay that took fourth (1:27.95) and the 400 free relay that was seventh (3:02.12) ... Minnesota Invite: came in 12th in the 100 back (47.27) and 200 back (1:44.15), 15th in the 200 IM (1:47.83); also part of the 200 medley relay that came in fourth (1:25.19), the 400 medley relay that was seventh (3:08.88) and the 400 free relay that was 19th (3:00.20) ... Wisconsin Dual: claimed second in the 100 back (48.64) and 200 back (1:47.74), and seventh in the 200 IM (1:54.98); also part of the 200 medley relay that claimed second (1:27.79) ... St. Thomas/South Dakota State Tri-Dual: took sixth in the 100 breast (58.88) and swam the 200 IM in an exhibition (1:53.05); also part of the 200 medley relay that took first (1:28.38) ... SMU Dual: finished first in the 100 back (49.42) and 200 back (1:48.17); also part of the 400 medley relay that finished first (3:14.11), the 200 medley relay that was third (1:30.08), the 400 free relay that was fifth (3:05.71) and the 200 free relay that was sixth (1:25.87) ... South Dakota Dual: won the 200 back (1:49.50), helped the 200 medley relay to victory (1:29.51) and swam the 400 free relay (3:09.89) in an exhibition • CSCAA Second Team Scholar All-American

2021-22 Junior Season: Winner of Hardest Worker, Most Improved, Iron Fish Award (above and beyond in performance training), Jerry McCaul Award (enthusiasm and dedication to the sport) and Outstanding Student-Athlete Award (GPA of 3.50+) at team banquet • finished eighth in the 100 back finals (47.93), 12th in the 200 back finals (1:43.74) and 16th in the 200 IM finals (1:48.22) at the Big Ten Championships; set the school record in the prelims of the 200 back (1:42.10) • placed third in the 200 back (1:45.68), seventh in the 200 IM (1:50.67) and eighth in the 100 back (48.71) in a tri-dual against Northwestern and Purdue • finished second in the 100 back (48.64), fourth in the 200 back (1:47.65) and seventh in the 200 IM (1:52.12) in a tri-dual versus Wisconsin and Michigan; also helped a 200 medley relay to sixth (1:30.29) • at the Minnesota Invite, recorded a 'B' cut in the 100 back (47.63) as a relay leadoff, placed 18th in the 100 back finals (47.98), 20th in the 200 back finals (1:46.23), 31st in the 200 IM finals (1:50.72) and 56th in the 100 fly prelims (50.26); also helped the 400 medley relay to a 10th-place finish (3:10.14) and the 200 medley relay to 16th (1:28.72) · won the 200 medley relay (1:27.27), and placed third in the 100 back (49.07) and 200 back (1:49.23), and seventh in the 100 fly (50.46) versus Wisconsin · touched first in the 100 fly (50.64) and 200 medley relay (1:28.83) against St. Thomas · won the 100 back (49.48) and 400 medley relay (3:15.24), and finished second in the 200 back (1:49.66) and sixth in the 200 IM (1:55.72) at Purdue • CSCAA Second Team Scholar All-American • Academic All-Big Ten honoree

2020-21 Sophomore Season: Placed 25th in the 200 back (1:45.82) and 31st in the 100 back (48.83) at the 2021 Big Ten Championships · touched third in the 100 back (49.34) and 200 back (1:49.39) and fifth in the 100 fly (49.48) against Iowa · finished seventh in the 200 back (1:49.24) and eighth in the 100 back (50.11) during the Wisconsin/Purdue tri-dual · Academic All-Big Ten · named “Most Improved” by team at the end-of-season team award banquet.

2019-20 Freshman Season: Finished 26th in the 200 back (1:46.23) at the Big Ten Championships · notched a third place finish in the 100 back (51.18) and a fourth place finish in the 200 back (1:52.64) against USC · placed fourth in the 100 back (51.53) and sixth in the 100 fly (50.59) at Hawaii · finished sixth in both the 100 fly (51.12) and 200 back (1:53.07) versus Wisconsin · earned a fourth place finish in both the 200 back (1:51.51) and 100 fly (50.72), as well as a fifth place finish in the 100 back (50.51) against Iowa · placed fifth in the 200 back (1:54.26) and seventh in the 100 back (52.59) at the FSU dual meet · placed fourth in the 200 IM (1:59.06) and seventh in both the 100 back (50.66) and 100 fly (51.33) versus Florida.

High School: A 2019 graduate of Lodi High School · Two-time All-American · Nine-time All-State selection and five-time All-State Honorable Mention · State Champion in the 200 back as a senior · State Runner-up in the 200 IM as a senior · Team Captain · Conference Champion in the 100 fly and 100 breast as a senior · Six-time Conference Champion overall · Set school record in the 100 back in 2019 · Three-time team MVP · Recipient of Eric Krueger Award for perseverance · Also lettered in football · USA Swimming Scholastic All-American · Swam for McFarland Spartan Sharks and Sauk Prairie Pool Sharks

Personal: Intends to major in sport management · Son of Karl and Tracy Sachtjen · Father played football for UW-Platteville and mother was an Olympic and world champion curler · Has one sister, Sierra, who swam for Northern Iowa · Chose Minnesota for the tradition, coaching staff and chemistry of the team, as well as the prestige of the university.