Adam Papin/MDN Matt Boen, of Minot High, swims in the 500 freestyle on Friday. Boen placed first in the event, with a time of 5:34.54.

The Minot High boys’ swimming and diving team opened their season with a commanding win over Mandan, 136-49. The Magicians swept all twelve events, as the six-time defending state champions began their season still fine tuning a lineup that lost a number of seniors from last season to graduation.

“There were some really great races throughout the meet,” Minot High boys’ swimming head coach Jake Solper said. “That was really fun to see. There were nailbiters, some for the top spot, some of them for the second, third and fourth spots.”

Minot High’s 200 medley relay team (Carter Larson, Alex Vecchio, Logan Hill and Gianmarco Renda) got the meet started with a win, finishing nine seconds clear of the second-place team from Mandan. They finished in 1:44.15.

After anchoring the relay, Renda won the 200 freestyle in a time of 2:04.57, 2.04 seconds better than teammate Jaxon Dodds. Eighth-grader Andrew Francis, 2:16.92, took the 200 individual medley, as Magician swimmers swept the top three spots in the event. Alex Vecchio, 23.75, narrowly bested teammate Matt Boen, 24.00, in the 50 freestyle, while Mandan’s Ian Keller finished third in 24.13.

Coming into the season with state title aspirations, Minot High diver Ty Ross started his season by winning the 1-meter diving competition with a score of 270.65. Teammate Jacob Roth finished second, 228.50, 1.90 points better than Mandan’s Jacob Thomas, 226.60.

Logan Hill won the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.40, the only swimmer to break the one-minute mark.

“We had good swims all around. It’s really nice to see our starting times where we get a sense of the direction we want to go,” Hill said.

According to Hill, that direction has lots of room for improvement.

“I think I still have room to grow, and I still have ways I can improve myself,” Hill said.

Vecchio and Renda both picked up multiple victories in the meet. Vecchio won 100 freestyle, just edging Mandan’s Vincent Keller with a time of 53.85. Renda’s second win was in the 100 breaststroke where he bested Mandan’s I. Keller by just 94 hundredths of a second.

Other winners for the Magicians included Matt Boen in the 500 freestyle, 5:34.54; the 200 freestyle relay team of Boen, Luke Neumann, Gavin King and Vecchio, 1:39.11; Carter Larson, in the 100 backstroke, 59.53; and the 400 yard freestyle relay team of Hill, Renda, Larson and Boen, 3:34.93.

Next up for the Magicians will be a trip to Jamestown today for a duals matchup.

Full results:

Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1. Minot High School ‘A’ (Larson, Carter 11, Vecchio, Alex 12, Hill, Logan 11, Renda, Gianmarco 12), 1:44.15; 2. Mandan High School ‘A’ (Keller, Vincent 10, Ressler, Ethan 11, Keller, Ian 12, Stein, Brody 10), 1:53.29; 3. Minot High School ‘B’ (Brey, Caden 10, Oswald, Derek 11, Neumann, Luke 9, King, Gavin 9), 1:58.13; 4. Minot High School ‘C’ (Stai, Levon 9, Armes, Parker 10, Barthnek, Isaiah 11, Francis, Andrew 8), x2:04.50; –. Minot High School ‘D’ (Gutknecht, Kayden 11, Baldwin, Brayden 11, Williamson, Otto 11, Mussio, Andres 9), X2:13.59; –. Minot High School ‘E’ (Greenlee, Will 12, Folk, Jon 9, Mason, Keegan 10, Cardwell, Taylor 12), X2:22.77; –. Minot High School ‘F’ (Taylor, Drake 9, Oswald, Xavier 9, Sherlock, Bryan 12, Barnard, Hunter 10), X2:34.09; –. Mandan High School ‘B’ (Ryan, Lane 10, Olson, Jacoby 9, Leingang, Trevor 8, Butman, Ian 11), DQ.

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle: 1. Renda, Gianmarco, Magicians, 2:04.57; 2. Dodds, Jaxon, Magicians, 2:07.01; 3. Lahtinen, Ian, MHS, 2:08.23; 4. Graff, Bennett, MHS, 2:12.86; 5. Lahtinen, Van, MHS, 2:14.71; 6. Greenlee, Will, Magicians, 2:44.12; –. Feist, Leonardo, MHS, X2:44.56.

Boys 200 Yard IM: 1. Francis, Andrew, Magicians, 2:16.92; 2. Larson, Carter, Magicians, 2:21.82; 3. Burns, Tyler, Magicians, 2:27.30; 4. Stein, Brody, MHS, 2:45.49; –. Brey, Caden, Magicians, X2:35.44; –. Williamson, Otto, Magicians, X2:39.58; –. King, Gavin, Magicians, X2:43.11; –. Jarvis, Callahan, Magicians, X3:08.29.

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle: 1. Vecchio, Alex, Magicians, 23.75; 2. Boen, Matt, Magicians, 24.00; 3. Keller, Ian, MHS, 24.13; 4. Keller, Vincent, MHS, 24.50; 5. Neumann, Luke, Magicians, 25.73; 6. Butman, Ian, MHS, 27.15; –. Gutknecht, Kayden, Magicians, X26.46; –. Barthnek, Isaiah, Magicians, X26.50; –. Sherlock, Bryan, Magicians, X28.19; –. Armes, Parker, Magicians, X29.52; –. Oswald, Xavier, Magicians, X29.60; –. Baldwin, Brayden, Magicians, X29.83; –. Mussio, Andres, Magicians, X31.61; –. Cardwell, Taylor, Magicians, X33.20; –. Taylor, Drake, Magicians, X35.60; –. Ryan, Tanner, MHS, X37.01; –. Aberle, Austyn, MHS, X39.75; –. Barnard, Hunter, Magicians, X41.55; –. Mason, Keegan, Magicians, XDQ.

Boys 1 mtr Diving: 1. Ross, Ty, Magicians, 270.65; 2. Roth, Jacob, Magicians, 228.50; 3. Thomas, Jacob, MHS, 226.60; 4. Solper, Tayson, Magicians, 174.70; 5. Ressler, Leighton, MHS, 162.00; 6. Fry, Gavin, MHS, 154.35; –. Williams, Holden, Magicians, X142.15; –. Nadeau, Carson, Magicians, X138.30; –. Ressler, Ethan, MHS, X94.90; –. Foley, Omar, MHS, X89.90.

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly: 1. Hill, Logan, Magicians, 55.40; 2. Francis, Andrew, Magicians, 1:01.78; 3. Burns, Tyler, Magicians, 1:04.34; 4. Graff, Bennett, MHS, 1:14.80; 5. Bierman, Andrew, MHS, 1:18.74; 6. Leingang, Trevor, MHS, 1:33.52.

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle: 1. Vecchio, Alex, Magicians, 53.85; 2. Keller, Vincent, MHS, 54.09; 3. Oswald, Derek, Magicians, 56.24; 4. Dodds, Jaxon, Magicians, 57.70; 5. Ryan, Lane, MHS, 1:07.61; 6. Olson, Jacoby, MHS, 1:13.17; –. Barthnek, Isaiah, Magicians, X1:00.83; –. Jarvis, Callahan, Magicians, X1:03.78; –. Stai, Levon, Magicians, X1:04.78; –. Oswald, Xavier, Magicians, X1:06.05; –. Folk, Jon, Magicians, X1:06.94; –. Baldwin, Brayden, Magicians, X1:09.90; –. Mussio, Andres, Magicians, X1:17.45; –. Taylor, Drake, Magicians, X1:20.58; –. Ryan, Tanner, MHS, X1:28.22; –. Aberle, Austyn, MHS, X1:45.09.

Boys 500 Yard Freestyle: 1. Boen, Matt, Magicians, 5:34.54; 2. Neumann, Luke, Magicians, 5:46.20; 3. Sherlock, Bryan, Magicians, 6:35.14; 4. Butman, Ian, MHS, 7:36.27; 5. Feist, Leonardo, MHS, 7:42.57.

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Minot High School ‘A’ (Boen, Matt 12, Neumann, Luke 9, King, Gavin 9, Vecchio, Alex 12), 1:39.11; 2. Mandan High School ‘A’ (Lahtinen, Ian 9, Keller, Vincent 10, Bierman, Andrew 11, Keller, Ian 12), 1:40.86; 3. Minot High School ‘B’ (Francis, Andrew 8, Barthnek, Isaiah 11, Oswald, Xavier 9, Dodds, Jaxon 10), 1:49.53; 4. Mandan High School ‘B’ (Ressler, Ethan 11, Olson, Jacoby 9, Lahtinen, Van 9, Graff, Bennett 10), 1:51.65; 5. Minot High School ‘C’ (Burns, Tyler 11, Baldwin, Brayden 11, Mussio, Andres 9, Jarvis, Callahan 10), x1:58.96; 6. Mandan High School ‘C’ (Feist, Leonardo 8, Aberle, Austyn 8, Ressler, Leighton 11, Ryan, Tanner 8), x2:31.46.

Boys 100 Yard Backstroke: 1. Larson, Carter, Magicians, 59.53; 2. Hill, Logan, Magicians, 59.84; 3. Brey, Caden, Magicians, 1:06.11; 4. Stein, Brody, MHS, 1:11.62; 5. Leingang, Trevor, MHS, 1:20.66; –. Mason, Keegan, Magicians, X1:09.24; –. King, Gavin, Magicians, X1:14.43; –. Gutknecht, Kayden, Magicians, X1:17.52; –. Ryan, Lane, MHS, X1:25.38; –. Greenlee, Will, Magicians, X1:26.47; –. Barnard, Hunter, Magicians, X1:44.46.

Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1. Renda, Gianmarco, Magicians, 1:15.57; 2. Keller, Ian, MHS, 1:16.51; 3. Lahtinen, Ian, MHS, 1:17.21; 4. Oswald, Derek, Magicians, 1:18.32; 5. Lahtinen, Van, MHS, 1:18.43; 6. Williamson, Otto, Magicians, 1:22.62; –. Armes, Parker, Magicians, X1:19.10; –. Stai, Levon, Magicians, X1:23.60; –. Folk, Jon, Magicians, X1:25.83; –. Olson, Jacoby, MHS, X1:35.03; –. Cardwell, Taylor, Magicians, XDQ.

Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. Minot High School ‘A’ (Hill, Logan 11, Renda, Gianmarco 12, Larson, Carter 11, Boen, Matt 12), 3:34.93; 2. Minot High School ‘B’ (Oswald, Derek 11, Brey, Caden 10, Mason, Keegan 10, Dodds, Jaxon 10), 4:00.19; 3. Mandan High School ‘A’ (Butman, Ian 11, Graff, Bennett 10, Lahtinen, Ian 9, Stein, Brody 10), 4:00.30; 4. Minot High School ‘C’ (Williamson, Otto 11, Sherlock, Bryan 12, Gutknecht, Kayden 11, Jarvis, Callahan 10), x4:19.59; 5. Mandan High School ‘B’ (Leingang, Trevor 8, Ryan, Lane 10, Lahtinen, Van 9, Feist, Leonardo 8), 4:35.70; –. Minot High School ‘D’ (Armes, Parker 10, Folk, Jon 9, Stai, Levon 9, Burns, Tyler 11), X4:39.74; –. Minot High School ‘E’ (Greenlee, Will 12, Barnard, Hunter 10, Taylor, Drake 9, Cardwell, Taylor 12), XDQ.

Team Rankings through event 12:

1. Minot High School, 136; 2. Mandan High School, 49. t