08/21/2026
Trivia question: how many Rochester swimmers have won high school individual state championships since the Minnesota high school league began keeping records in the 1940s?
The answer to this question is that 41 Rochester high school boys and girls have won a total of 83 state high school individual swimming and diving titles. The most recent of these championships came during the 2025–2026 school year. Julia Ogren won the 100 yard butterfly at the girls high school state meet in November and Kai Joyner won the 200 and 500 freestyle titles at the boys meet in February. Over the prior 83 years, an additional 80 state titles were earned, beginning with Jocko McKenzie’s 100 yd backstroke victories in 1944 and 1945, during WWII.
Several remarkable achievements deserve mention. Steve Jackman won 3 different events before he attended the University of Minnesota and won the NCAA title in the 50 freestyle. Bruce Brown won five consecutive diving titles between 1958 and 1962. Another diver, Dick Kimball won four titles between 1951 and 1954. Kimball eventually became the head diving coach at the University of Michigan, where he coached several Olympians, including his own son.
Mayo high school alumni, Tom Hodgson, won 4 state titles in three different events in 1967 and 1968. He then swam at the University of Minnesota, coached at Moundsview high school and then spent 30+ years as the head coach at the University of St. Thomas. You might recognize Tom as the announcer at our recent age group state meets at the Rochester Recreation center.
Another Mayo high school swimmer, Sean Quackenbush won the 100 yard butterfly title in 1988 while being coached by his father, legendary swimming coach, Ken Quackenbush. Sean held the University of Minnesota butterfly records for a decade after graduating from the U. In a similar father-son combination, John Marshall’s Kendrick Bachman won two events in 2009 while being coached by his father, longtime JM coach Paul Bachman.
The boys had a 30-year head start on the girls. The Minnesota State High School League didn’t hold a girls state championship until title IX was passed in the 1970s. Rochester‘s first high school girls title was won by Heather Rue in 1989 in the 200 yd freestyle. Lori Sibbers won 4 titles for John Marshall in 1990-1992. Jenny Shaughnessy became Rochester’s only 5-time state champion swimmer before winning 8 Big-Ten titles at the University of Minnesota.
Rochester Swimming, Inc. felt it was important to acknowledge all of the city’s individual high school state championship swimmers and divers. So, with the help of Brad Thatcher, Pat Carroll, Dale Magnuson, Jim Dervin and Quinten Oeltjen RSI placed a new High School State Championship board up on the wall at the Recreation Center. It honors those swimmers and divers who won state titles and reminds us of the long, distinguished history of swimming and diving in Rochester.
You might notice that Kai Joyner’s name isn’t on the board yet. That’s because he has two more years to add to his total! No pressure…. Thanks to all our financial supporters who allow us to continue these projects.
