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SARTELL - WJON’s All-Star Student of the Week started swimming in the sixth grade when he realized basketball just wasn't for him. Now as a sophomore at Sartell-St. Stephen High School, Mitchell Dockendorf swam in four different events.

Mitchell Dockendorf
(Photo: Yvette Dockendorf)
Mitchell Dockendorf
(Photo: Yvette Dockendorf)
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"I swam the 200 melody relay, the 200 individual melody, the 100 backstroke, and the third leg on the 400 freestyle relay," says Dockendorf.

Boys’ swimming and diving head coach Jason Anderson says he was excited to have Dockendorf join his team.

He says, "Mitchell is one of those kids that as a coach you kind of see him coming up through the ranks in seventh grade and eighth grade, you’re excited that a swimmer of this caliber is on your team." 

At this year’s state meet Dockendorf and the rest of the team had a good showing with ten of the eleven events represented by Sartell-St. Stephen.

(Photo: Joshua Akkerman, WJON)
(Photo: Joshua Akkerman, WJON)
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"Our team did very well," says Dockndorf, "We accomplished a lot of what we wanted to accomplish. We placed third at the true team meet. We won our section, and our true team section. We basically just all swam our fastest times ever."

Dockendorf swam one of those fastest times which are shown above the pool in the high school.

Anderson says, "For Mitchell to break a record that was set by Cameron Hyde, who is one of the all time fastest swimmers in Sartell history, is something special. His fifty-three second time there is very impressive."

While at the state meet Dockendorf set the school record in the 100 backstroke.

It’s a good feeling. Swimming fast is fun as our coach says. You always want to be able to go faster, and just go as hard as you can. - Mitchell Dockendorf.

He swam a 53.14 during the state finals at the University of Minnesota pool, but the record he broke wasn't Hyde’s. It was his own which he set a week before state at the section meet.

Anderson says, "He broke the record that day by over a second. We were just very excited. We were cheering for him, jumping up and down on the sidelines. I always talk to the guys about having that internal feeling of satisfaction that happens when you've trained hard, and it pays off with a fast swim. You just see that on Mitchell’s face when he had broken that the first day, and then of course down here at the state swim meet, he stepped up, went to the next level, and broke it again."

Dockendorf broke the school record twice within a week, and he has two years left in high school swimming to do it again.

"It’s very exciting to think what could happen if he continues to train at the level he’s training at, and compete at the level he’s competing at," says Anderson, "The sky’s the limit there, so it will be fun to see where it ends for him in high school." 

If you know a student like Mitchell, nominate them below as WJON's All-Star Student.
It can be any student, in any grade, participating in any activity.

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