Minnesota State Champion Jack Hackler Commits to Minnesota, Following His Mom & Dad’s Legacies

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Jack Hackler, a Minnesota native and U.S. Open qualifier, committed to Minnesota for next fall. 

“I’m very excited to announce my athletic and academic commitment to the University of Minnesota! I’d like to thank my family, especially my parents, my friends, and my teammates for all the support they’ve given me. I’d also like to thank Coach Kate at Aquajets, and Coach Heidi at West Express for getting me to the point I’m at today. Row the Boat, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers!! 〽️〽️〽️”

Hackler, a current senior at Waconia High School, trains with the West Express Swim Team in Chaska, Minnesota. He primarily swims the breaststroke events, and is the current AA state champion in the men’s 100 breaststroke.

In March of this year, Hackler swam at his high school state meet where he won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.27. He also placed 16th in the 200 IM with a 2:05.02, which was an add from his prelims best time of 1:55.09. 

Earlier this month, he swam the 200 breaststroke at the IFLY Midwest Challenge, and he went a best time of 2:00.77. This was a 2.5-second drop from his previous best of 2:03.18, and was fast enough to earn him his second U.S. Open qualifying time.

Hackler is a double legacy for the University of Minnesota. His dad, Jeff Hackler, also swam breaststroke events at Minnesota and was a 16-time All American during his 4 years. In 2000, Hackler placed 3rd in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events at the NCAA championships and he was inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame in 2022. His mom, then Kelsey Hegener was an All-American and All-Big Ten breaststroker as well.

Best Times SCY

• 100 breast- 54.27
• 200 breast 2:00.77
• 200 IM- 1:55.09

A member of the Big Ten conference, the Minnesota men placed 5th at last year’s conference championship. Minnesota then sent 5 men to the NCAA championships in March, though none in the breaststroke events. Historically, Minnesota has done exceedingly well in the breaststroke events, and has had a number of champions while under head coach Kelly Kremer, most recently including three-time 100 breast champ Max McHugh.

The top three 100 breaststrokers from last year are graduating after this season, so Hackler is coming in at a good time for Minnesota, as his time put him 4th last season. His 200 breaststroke would have been 9th last year, but 5 of the athletes ahead of him either have graduated or will graduate before he arrives on campus.

Hackler will be joined by a large class of Oliver Schimberg, Ethan Schutten, Jackson Scheiber, Edward Stoltz, and Ethan Kosin.

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