Michael Vosburg / The Forum Minot’s Dominic Yoder competes in the 200-yard individual medley of boys state swim meet on Saturday at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo.

WEST FARGO — The Magicians once again delivered a dazzling final act.

The Minot High School boys swimming and diving team captured its third straight state championship, No. 28 in program history, with a dominating display this weekend at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo.

The Magi picked up a staggering 463 points to outpace the field. Left behind to battle for second place were Bismarck Century (248), Fargo North (217) and Fargo South (209).

Minot had an individual or relay team place inside the top four in all 12 events held Saturday on the second and final day of the state meet.

“It was exciting,” MHS head coach Jake Solper said. “There was a lot of enthusiasm among the guys because they wanted to do well each race. It was just a lot of fun.”

After a solid showing Friday in the preliminaries, Minot was in a prime position to make a statement on Saturday. The two-time defending state champions did exactly that in the opening 200-yard medley relay.

Minot set a new school and pool record with a time of 1:36.64. Junior Dominic Yoder, senior Griffin Schaeffer, freshman Jaxon Reinke and senior Zac Spaulding accomplished the feat.

“That showed that our guys were dialed in and ready to give every last ounce of effort,” Solper said. “With two seniors, a junior and a freshman (on that relay team), our team could really look to them and know it didn’t matter what grade level you’re in. We were going to show up and do what we do. We were going to compete.”

Yoder won an individual state title in the backstroke with a time of 52.18 seconds. Minot’s Peyton Bartsch was fifth at 56.77 and Jaxon Reinke slipped into sixth at 57 seconds flat.

Nearing the end of the evening, the Magi seized another team win in the 200 relay with Schaeffer, Spaulding, Alexander King and Jack Wolsky.

“Each year is special because of the guys you have with you at the state meet,” Solper said. “You always want to do well for your seniors, but you want great things for every member of each state team. Each team gels differently, but also the same. They get tight-knit and are pulling for each other.”

Minot crowded the podium in the 200 IM and breaststroke.

Yoder led the charge in the 200 IM with a second-place time of 1:58.53. He outreached three teammates in Josh Boen (third, 1:59.12), William Walker-Rozo (fourth, 1:59.17) and Jack Wolsky (fifth, 2:00.29).

The breaststroke was a similar story with Boen slotting into second place (59.86) and was closely followed to the finish by teammates Wolsky (third, 1:00.18) and Griffin Schaeffer (fifth, 1:00.59).

Other individual runner-up finishes went to Spaulding in the 50 and Walker-Rozo in the butterfly.

Spaulding also finished third in the 100, beating out teammate Grant Schaeffer by two-tenths of a second.

Grant Schaeffer took third in the 200 and teamed up with Alexander King, Yoder and Walker-Rozo for third in the 400 relay.

King was fourth in the 500 and sixth in the 200.

On the diving board, Minot’s Layton King posted the third-highest score with 414.75 points. Three other Magicians placed inside the top 10: Jaron Coombs (fifth, 363.75), Reece Pederson (seventh, 333.25) and Harrison Shanklin (10th, 303.00).

Minot also had seven individuals — Levi VonBokern (100, 200), Griffin Schaeffer (butterfly), Oliver Roongin (butterfly), Layton King (100), Kalen Hill (backstroke), Reinke (butterfly) and Bartsch (50) — who scored points in consolation final heats.

A total team effort.

“We are fortunate right now to have a good string of athletes, a (high) quantity of athletes,” Solper said. “We have a great culture of training and competiting that athletes now and in the past have created.”

After Bismarck Century won five straight state titles from 2013 through 2017, Minot has taken control of the pool once again with three consecutive championships.

Rattling off state titles in a row is nothing new for the program. Minot won 10 straight from 1999 to 2008. There was also a pair of six-peats from 1988-93 and 1978-83.

While the Magi might make it look easy, keeping championship streaks alive is an ongoing challenge.

“When you win the first one, that’s outstanding,” Solper said. “But to keep replicating that isn’t always the easiest thing to do. The odds end up stacking up against you. But, each group of athletes looks at each season as a new season and a new opportunity. So, instead of thinking about stringing titles together, I think you just have to look at each season as a standalone season.”

This title-winning Minot group will graduate 13 seniors.

“This group of seniors were phenomenal leaders,” Solper said. “They came in with a plan, prior to the start of the season, to have an incredible team culture. They wanted to be as close as they could. There was a multitude of team bonding opportunities, which a thank you goes out to the parents for making that possible. Once the team starts to gel and they create that common bond, you train a little harder when you care more about those around you. You want to do the best you can for them.”

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.