MDN File Photo Minot High now-senior Jack Wolsky swims the breaststroke during a high school swim meet held two seasons ago at the Magic City Campus.

The three-peat.

Some might say it’s one of the most elusive achievements in all of sports — a mythical goal in which few have obtained.

As for 2019 Coach of the Year Jake Solper, the quest for a three-peat for the Minot High School boys swimming and diving team will come down to determination, resolve, chemistry and willpower.

But the Magicians’ focus isn’t on the hardware.

“We don’t talk about winning titles,” Solper said. “In Minot, that just ends up being a byproduct, and maybe that’s cliché, but we ask our guys to show up every day in practice, to race and compete and to push each other.”

The confidence around the team is polarizing. There’s an expectation of excellence that surrounds this program. The decades of dominance are proudly displayed with 27 state championship banners lining the walls around the pool.

They push one another to get better, cheer for each other, but they also compete against one another. The competition is so fierce that the team typically has more state qualifiers than needed in every event.

“It gets tough at the end of the season when you can only bring four, and somebody bumps somebody else out,” said Solper.

A winning culture doesn’t just happen. It’s planted, then watered with a “next man up, I don’t want to let my teammate down” mentality. For the Magi, this seed has been maturing in the program for decades.

“That’s the culture that we have,” Solper said. “That’s the culture that we’ve built for years and years. It’s the legacy of Minot High. All the credit goes to our athletes — those of years past and those currently.”

Senior captains this season include Zach Spaulding, William Walker-Rozo, Griffin Schaeffer and Jack Wolsky.

When the team morale isn’t up to standards, Minot High turns to these four swimmers. But, in reality, the entire senior class has vast experience to draw on.

MHS returns individual state placewinners Grant Schaeffer, Alexander King, Layton King, Reece Pederson, Josh Boen, Dominic Yoder, Kalen Hill, Walker-Rozo, Wolsky and Spaulding.

Spaulding, like the rest of the Magi, wants to improve on his times from last year and all-around drop times.

“We want to have a really good team culture this year and have a really fun year all around and try to be as competitive in the pool,” he said.

During the offseason, the Magicians stay active as required by the coaching staff. A lot of the swimmers are multi-sport athletes in which a number of them are runners in cross country while others partake in football, tennis, golf and track & field.

A large sum of the team takes part in the year-round club swim program while others join a month before training camp to stay in and or get back into shape.

Now, the goal is to turn training into results. And have some fun in the process.

“Every year, we look for our guys to have just a really good life experience,” Solper said. “I coach this sport because I had an incredible coach before me, coach Ken Disher, who also continues to assist with the team. It’s those life lessons that you learn from your coaches, teammates, competitors that really have a lasting impact on how they’ve grown as an individual.”

The two-time defending state champion Magicians start their new season with an invitational meet on Saturday at the Williston Area Rec Center. Minot’s home opener is a dual meet against Mandan on Jan. 4.