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The United States Air Force Academy has added another member to the freshman class of 2022, picking up a verbal commitment from Danny Detjen of Draper, Utah. Detjen is currently in his senior year at Brighton High School.
At the 2021 Utah 5A Swimming and Diving State Championships back in February, Detjen swept his events, claiming the state title in both the 200 free and 500 free. Both of his wins came in dominant fashion, with his win in the 200 coming by a margin of 4 seconds and his 500 title coming by nearly 8 seconds. With altitude adjustment, he touched in the 200 in 1:40.17, while he finished the 500 in 4:35.83. A year earlier, he took second in the same two events, finishing behind Austin Butler in both.
Over the summer, Detjen, while competing for Cottonwood Heights Aquatics, was a multiple event finalist at the Utah Swimming Long Course Championships. He made it into the A-final of the 100 fly, with his altitude adjusted time being 1:00.08. He also swam in the B-final of the 100 free (55.26) and in prelims of the 50 free (25.92) and 100 back (1:04.57).
In the 200 fly, he swam to a huge lifetime best last March, dipping below 1:51 for the first time. Touching in 1:50.58, Detjen’s time was over a second faster than his previous best in the event.
TOP SCY TIMES
- 200 free – 1:40.17
- 500 free – 4:35.49
- 1650 free – 16:08.64
- 200 fly – 1:50.58
Detjen is highly versatile and could compete in numerous events at the college level. He will likely narrow his focus down to the distance freestyle events, as he will provide Air Force solid depth in those races immediately after getting to campus. Last season, he would have had the third-fastest time in the 1650 on the team, as well as the sixth-fastest in the 500 free. The team was led in the mid-distance races by Wen Zhang, who was the conference champion in the 200 free and took 7th in the 500 free.
Zhang is one of the most accomplished swimmers in Air Force history. Only a junior, Zhang set the conference record in the 200 free earlier this season at 1:34.55. He also sits as the second-fastest performer in WAC history in the 100 free, just .11 behind former teammate Isaac Gwin.
In the 200 fly, Detjen will have the potential to be an A-finalist as a freshman at the WAC Championships. Last season, it took a time of 1:50.17 to make it back in the A-final.
The Air Force men are coming off of their most successful season in team history. The team scored a conference record 864 points at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, winning twelve events and setting a total of nine program records. The team received three conference awards, with head coach Rob Clayton earning WAC Coach of the Year, Zach Nelson winning Swimmer of the Year, and Zhang winning Newcomer of the Year.
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Congrats Danny!
Wow. Huge get for USAFA! It will be great to watch this diamond in the rough from Utah develop and breakout at the next level under Coach Clayton. The historical season for Air Force and future team potential must be why Danny chose this program out of all his options. Danny is loved and cherished here in the Utah swim community as the senior rep for our 5,000 athletes. Take good care of him Air Force!