James Jackson/MDN The Minot High Magicians boys’ swimming and diving team continue their dominant ways by downing the Fargo Davies Eagles in a battle between the WDA and EDC on Friday night.

Potentially serving as a prime-time preview of what to expect at the NDHSAA Boys State Swimming and Diving State Meet in the approaching weeks, perennial powerhouses of the pool Fargo Davies and Minot High set the lanes ablaze on Friday night as they squared off in a hotly anticipated dual at the Magic City Natatorium.

Billed as a battle of the best between the East and the West, the defending state champions and West Region’s own Minot High Magicians handily downed the Eastern Dakota Conference’s reigning swimming and diving champion Fargo Davies Eagles 123-63 in a test of strength as both teams inch ever closer to the upcoming state tournament.

Entering Friday evening’s matchup having dominantly pocketed win after impressive win since opening day of the season, the Magi set their sights on adding even more to their beyond-legendary status as the most decorated swimming and diving program in North Dakota history by notching a statement victory over a Fargo Davies team that has composed a distinguished resume of accolades in the past several years and earned their place as one of Minot High’s most credible nemeses.

Fielding a number of swimmers that have thrived under the spotlight, Minot High head coach Jake Solper said of his veterans, “We have a lot of guys on this team that live for the big duals and races, so I know they are coming into tonight ready to go.”

Solper added, “Not only does that poise and confidence help our individual swimmers perform better, but it rubs off on our younger guys and helps to build them up as well.”

With both the Magi and Eagles rosters overflowing with talent, the stage was set for a heavyweight thriller as swim and dive fervor permeated the Minot High pool area and the fan-filled bleachers leading up to the dual’s first event.

Coming out of the gates hot, Minot High established their grip on the lead early, notching three of the top four spots on the scoreboard in the 200-yard medley relay with the All-State-heavy team of Jaxon Reinke, Roongin Paradorn, Ryan Hubbard, and Alex King locking down first place.

Building on their opening momentum in the second event of the night, Ryan Hubbard and Logan Hill secured first and second place respectively in the 200-yard freestyle for the Magi, followed by state-qualifiers Reinke, King, and Matt Boen proceeding to take first, second, and third place in the 200-yard individual medley.

Despite finishing outside of the top three, a determined effort by Fargo Davies freshman Grant Schluchter punched his state-qualifying ticket in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:22:89.

Already putting the Eagles on the ropes with nine events to go, Minot High kept the pedal to the floor, with Carter Larson, Kaden Dodds, and Alex Vecchio claiming first, second, and fourth place in the 50-yard freestyle before Ty Ross once again put on a show on the diving board to edge out Davies standout Aiden Hoff by a margin of 270.05-243.35 in 1-meter diving.

Relentless in their pursuit of a victory in the dual, the Magi poured on even more points after turning the corner on the halfway mark, led by King’s first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, top-performances in the 100-yard freestyle by Logan Hill, Dodds, and Vecchio, and top-3 performances by Roongin and Larson in the 500-yard freestyle.

In addition to Hill, Dodds, and Vecchio’s impressive times in the 100-yard freestyle, Minot High sophomore Derek Oswald found another gear and proceeded to shift into it in the event as well, touching the wall at the 55.16 mark to solidify his state-qualifying status in one of the premier moments of the evening.

Focused on finishing the dual in commanding fashion, the Magi scooped up one last dose of points thanks to bullish team efforts in the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relays, along with noteworthy top-six finishes by Gianmarco Renda, Ben Harris, Levi VonBokern, and Jamison Donohoe to cap off a stellar night of swimming and diving to seal a 123-63 victory for Minot High.

Reflecting on the dual’s key takeaways for the Magi, Coach Solper emphasized, “Wins are always great, but tonight was also about how many swimmers cut significant time in a number events as we approach the state tournament. Several guys, both on our team and on a very game Davies Eagles team, made great progress tonight.”

Looking to continue their winning ways on the road, Minot High travels to the Bismarck Aquatics Center today to compete in the Century Invite starting at 10:30 a.m.

Fargo Davies @ Minot Dual

Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay:

1. Minot High School ‘A’ (Reinke, Jaxon 12, Roongin, Paradorn 12, Hubbard,

Ryan 12, King, Alex 12), 1:39.43; 2. Fargo Davies High School ‘A’ (Carlson,

Joe 12, Jiang, Justin 9, Shen, Patrick 11, Swanson, Hunter 09), 1:47.06; 3.

Minot High School ‘B’ (Dodds, Kaden 12, Harris, Benjamin 10, Boen, Matt 11,

Vecchio, Alex 11), 1:52.89; 4. Minot High School ‘C’ (Renda, Gianmarco 11,

Shaw, Conner 10, Donohoe, Jamison 12, VonBokern, Levi 12), x1:56.27; 5. Fargo

Davies High School ‘B’ (Hektner, Ben 12, Shannon, Owen 11, Li, Samuel 11, Ohe,

Alex 12), 1:58.15; 6. Fargo Davies High School ‘C’ (Degerness, Cole 10, Park,

Matthew 8, Schluchter, Grant 09, Steffan, Gabriel 11), x1:59.55; 7. Fargo

Davies High School ‘D’ (Anyiam, Samuel 11, Peterson, Josh 12, Gladue, Richard

8, Lange, Asher 09), x2:25.87; –. Minot High School ‘D’ (Barthnek, Isaiah 10,

Armes, Parker 9, Burns, Tyler 10, Solper, Tayson 8), X2:06.29; –. Minot High

School ‘E’ (Williamson, Otto 10, Thompson, Chance 12, Sherlock, Bryan 11,

Greenlee, Will 11), X2:15.37; –. Minot High School ‘F’ (Jarvis, Callahan 9,

Rodriguez, Ramiro 10, Brey, Caden 9, Summers, Logan 10), X2:21.24; –. Minot

High School ‘G’ (Thompson, Jaxson 9, Dodds, Jaxon 9, Mason, Keegan 9, Shaw,

Landon 12), XDQ.

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle:

1. Hubbard, Ryan, Magicians, 1:54.37; 2. Hill, Logan, Magicians, 1:57.32; 3.

Shook, Ian, Eagles, 1:58.09; 4. Eichmann, Kyler, Eagles, 2:01.05; 5. Swanson,

Hunter, Eagles, 2:02.57; 6. Oswald, Derek, Magicians, 2:06.95; –. Chabot,

Brandon, Magicians, X2:21.40; –. Moldenhauer, Justin, Magicians, X2:23.60;

–. Gutknecht, Kayden, Magicians, X2:25.65; –. Baldwin, Malychi, Magicians,

X2:29.52; –. Baldwin, Brayden, Magicians, X2:30.43; –. Biewer, Levi, Eagles,

X2:35.28; –. Muzirwa, Edmore, Eagles, X2:36.18; –. Withers, Carter,

Magicians, X2:46.47.

Boys 200 Yard IM:

1. Reinke, Jaxon, Magicians, 2:04.16; 2. King, Alex, Magicians, 2:08.99; 3.

Boen, Matt, Magicians, 2:13.95; 4. Schluchter, Grant, Eagles, 2:22.89; 5. Li,

Samuel, Eagles, 2:30.83; 6. Park, Matthew, Eagles, 2:37.86.

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle:

1. Larson, Carter, Magicians, 23.54; 2. Dodds, Kaden, Magicians, 24.16; 3.

Shen, Patrick, Eagles, 24.36; 4. Vecchio, Alex, Magicians, 24.87; 5. Jiang,

Justin, Eagles, 25.16; 6. Ohe, Alex, Eagles, 26.40; –. VonBokern, Levi,

Magicians, X25.17; –. Donohoe, Jamison, Magicians, X25.42; –. Harris,

Benjamin, Magicians, X26.15; –. Shaw, Conner, Magicians, X26.36; –. Narum,

Paul, Eagles, X26.51; –. Dodds, Jaxon, Magicians, X26.51; –. Steffan,

Gabriel, Eagles, X26.52; –. Degerness, Cole, Eagles, X26.65; –. Shannon,

Owen, Eagles, X26.69; –. Williamson, Otto, Magicians, X26.83; –. Brey,

Caden, Magicians, X27.49; –. Burns, Tyler, Magicians, X27.60; –. Barthnek,

Isaiah, Magicians, X27.73; –. Thompson, Chance, Magicians, X28.60; –. Lange,

Asher, Eagles, X29.74; –. Anyiam, Samuel, Eagles, X30.73; –. Summers, Logan,

Magicians, X31.70; –. Gladue, Richard, Eagles, X31.98; –. Armes, Parker,

Magicians, X32.13; –. Greenlee, Will, Magicians, X33.30; –. Shaw, Landon,

Magicians, X33.92; –. Thompson, Jaxson, Magicians, X43.70.

Boys 1 mtr Diving:

1. Ross, Ty, Magicians, 270.05; 2. Hoff, Aiden, Eagles, 243.35; 3. Roth,

Jacob, Magicians, 227.35; 4. Peterson, Josh, Eagles, 205.00; 5. Huss, Trevor,

Magicians, 180.05; –. Solper, Tayson, Magicians, X176.50; –. Williams,

Holden, Magicians, X125.55.

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly:

1. King, Alex, Magicians, 54.40; 2. Shen, Patrick, Eagles, 59.09; 3. Hektner,

Ben, Eagles, 1:01.81; 4. VonBokern, Levi, Magicians, 1:01.88; 5. Ohe, Alex,

Eagles, 1:08.69; –. Renda, Gianmarco, Magicians, DQ.

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle:

1. Hill, Logan, Magicians, 51.10; 1. Carlson, Joe, Eagles, 51.10; 3. Dodds,

Kaden, Magicians, 55.52; 4. Vecchio, Alex, Magicians, 55.60; 5. Li, Samuel,

Eagles, 57.95; 6. Hoff, Aiden, Eagles, 1:08.57; –. Oswald, Derek, Magicians,

X55.16; –. Steffan, Gabriel, Eagles, X59.20; –. Shannon, Owen, Eagles,

X59.77; –. Moldenhauer, Justin, Magicians, X1:02.35; –. Sherlock, Bryan,

Magicians, X1:02.55; –. Chabot, Brandon, Magicians, X1:03.93; –. Gutknecht,

Kayden, Magicians, X1:04.11; –. Rodriguez, Ramiro, Magicians, X1:04.86; –.Baldwin, Malychi, Magicians, X1:06.21; –. Biewer, Levi, Eagles, X1:07.10; –.

Mason, Keegan, Magicians, X1:08.63; –. Muzirwa, Edmore, Eagles, X1:10.62; –.

Baldwin, Brayden, Magicians, X1:10.81; –. Anyiam, Samuel, Eagles, X1:13.38;

–. Summers, Logan, Magicians, X1:15.52; –. Shaw, Landon, Magicians,

X1:16.03.

Boys 500 Yard Freestyle:

1. Roongin, Paradorn, Magicians, 5:29.11; 2. Swanson, Hunter, Eagles, 5:31.84;

3. Larson, Carter, Magicians, 5:35.76; 4. Degerness, Cole, Eagles, 5:36.23; 5.

Schluchter, Grant, Eagles, 5:43.15; 6. Dodds, Jaxon, Magicians, 5:51.18; –.

Gladue, Richard, Eagles, X6:46.36; –. Jarvis, Callahan, Magicians, X7:00.62.

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay:

1. Minot High School ‘A’ (Hill, Logan 10, Oswald, Derek 10, Larson, Carter 10,

King, Alex 12), 1:36.55; 2. Fargo Davies High School ‘A’ (Shook, Ian 11,

Eichmann, Kyler 8, Jiang, Justin 9, Li, Samuel 11), 1:39.78; 3. Fargo Davies

High School ‘B’ (Ohe, Alex 12, Shannon, Owen 11, Steffan, Gabriel 11, Narum,

Paul 12), 1:46.33; 4. Minot High School ‘B’ (Harris, Benjamin 10, Sherlock,

Bryan 11, Shaw, Conner 10, Huss, Trevor 12), 1:51.41; 5. Fargo Davies High

School ‘C’ (Biewer, Levi 11, Anyiam, Samuel 11, Muzirwa, Edmore 12, Park,

Matthew 8), x1:56.45; 6. Minot High School ‘C’ (Moldenhauer, Justin 12,

Chabot, Brandon 12, Thompson, Chance 12, Gutknecht, Kayden 10), x1:56.82; –.

Minot High School ‘D’ (Baldwin, Brayden 10, Armes, Parker 9, Withers, Carter

11, Rodriguez, Ramiro 10), X2:01.48; –. Minot High School ‘E’ (Baldwin,

Malychi 9, Shaw, Landon 12, Summers, Logan 10, Greenlee, Will 11), XDQ.

Boys 100 Yard Backstroke:

1. Reinke, Jaxon, Magicians, 56.41; 2. Carlson, Joe, Eagles, 57.90; 3.

Hubbard, Ryan, Magicians, 58.86; 4. Hektner, Ben, Eagles, 1:02.51; 5. Renda,

Gianmarco, Magicians, 1:03.42; 6. Shook, Ian, Eagles, 1:03.73; –. Donohoe,

Jamison, Magicians, X1:07.24; –. Burns, Tyler, Magicians, X1:10.25; –. Brey,

Caden, Magicians, X1:12.13; –. Barthnek, Isaiah, Magicians, X1:12.43; –.

Williamson, Otto, Magicians, X1:13.96; –. Mason, Keegan, Magicians, X1:19.81;

–. Thompson, Jaxson, Magicians, X1:43.85.

Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke:

1. Roongin, Paradorn, Magicians, 1:02.25; 2. Boen, Matt, Magicians, 1:07.39;

3. Harris, Benjamin, Magicians, 1:10.98; 4. Jiang, Justin, Eagles, 1:11.05; 5.

Eichmann, Kyler, Eagles, 1:13.00; 6. Park, Matthew, Eagles, 1:16.16; –. Shaw,

Conner, Magicians, X1:16.13; –. Rodriguez, Ramiro, Magicians, X1:23.35; –. Armes, Parker, Magicians, X1:25.34; –. Sherlock, Bryan, Magicians, X1:25.48;

–. Withers, Carter, Magicians, X1:26.04; –. Thompson, Chance, Magicians,

X1:26.93; –. Jarvis, Callahan, Magicians, X1:30.90; –. Greenlee, Will,

Magicians, X1:49.47.

Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay:

1. Minot High School ‘A’ (Hubbard, Ryan 12, Hill, Logan 10, Roongin, Paradorn

12, Reinke, Jaxon 12), 3:28.26; 2. Fargo Davies High School ‘A’ (Swanson,

Hunter 09, Shen, Patrick 11, Shook, Ian 11, Carlson, Joe 12), 3:34.83; 3.

Minot High School ‘B’ (Renda, Gianmarco 11, VonBokern, Levi 12, Larson, Carter

10, Boen, Matt 11), 3:42.18; 4. Minot High School ‘C’ (Vecchio, Alex 11,

Donohoe, Jamison 12, Oswald, Derek 10, Dodds, Kaden 12), x3:52.31; 5. Fargo

Davies High School ‘B’ (Hektner, Ben 12, Schluchter, Grant 09, Degerness, Cole

10, Eichmann, Kyler 8), 3:55.31; 6. Fargo Davies High School ‘C’ (Muzirwa,

Edmore 12, Biewer, Levi 11, Gladue, Richard 8, Lange, Asher 09), x4:48.17; –.

Minot High School ‘D’ (Dodds, Jaxon 9, Chabot, Brandon 12, Williamson, Otto

10, Barthnek, Isaiah 10), X4:14.87; –. Minot High School ‘E’ (Brey, Caden 9,

Burns, Tyler 10, Gutknecht, Kayden 10, Baldwin, Brayden 10), X4:32.09; –.

Minot High School ‘F’ (Mason, Keegan 9, Thompson, Jaxson 9, Baldwin, Malychi

9, Jarvis, Callahan 9), X5:17.35.

Men – Team Rankings – Through Event 12:

1. Minot High School, 123; 2. Fargo Davies High School, 63.