Four State Records Fall While Minot Repeats as North Dakota Boys Champions

Photo Courtesy: Minot Magician Swimming Twitter (@magiswim)

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The 2019 North Dakota Boys State Swimming and Diving Championships took place on March 2 at the Bismarck Aquatic Center in Bismarck, N.D.

A total of four North Dakota state records were broken:

Century – 4×50 medley relay (1:36.52)
Century’s Chris Birnbaum – 200 free (1:42.38
Mandan’s Johnny Mindt – 1-meter diving (526.55)
Century’s Jayden Porter – 100 breast (55.59)

For the second-straight year, Minot used their impressive depth to secure the team title with 438 points ahead of Century (327) and Fargo North (267).

Click HERE for full results.

Top 5 Team Scores:

Minot – 438
Century – 327
Fargo North – 267
West Fargo – 216
Fargo South – 171

Century’s Charles Koebele (24.87), Porter (25.51), Riley Kaul (24.95) and Will Dohrmann (21.19) began the meet by winning the 4×50 medley relay in 1:36.52, eclipsing their own North Dakota state record of 1:36.64 set in 2013. Minot (1:39.81) and West Fargo (1:41.38) rounded out the podium.

Birnbaum cruised to first in the 200 free, stopping the clock in 1:42.38 to break Dylan Sether’s 2013 state record of 1:42.76. West Fargo’s Timothy Hulbert was second in 1:47.35 and Minot’s Grant Schaeffer took third in 1:49.23 as the only other swimmers under 1:50.

Not too long after helping his team win the opening medley relay, Porter was back in the water to claim a personal gold in the 200 IM with a final time of 1:56.70. Also under the two-minute marker was Minot’s William Walker-Rozo in 1:59.15 and his teammate, Jack Wolsky, wound up third in 2:01.93.

Wahpeton’s Eric Anderson splashed-and-dashed his way to a win in the 50 free, posting a quick 21.22. Fargo North’s Payton Gabel raced to second in 21.89 while Dohrmann secured the third-place spot with a final time of 21.91.

Mindt dove to first on the 1-meter board, finishing with a final score of 526.55 to break Brady Coughlin’s previous state mark of 509.80 set in 2015. Fargo South’s Connor Johnson took second with 434.20 points while Minot’s Layton King dove to third with a score of 384.50.

Williston’s Rhys Enget flew to the top of the podium in the 100 fly, getting his hands to the wall the fastest in 53.09 for the win. 53.79 was fast enough for Fargo North’s Peyton Fisher to secure the runner-up spot while Walker-Rozo finished third in 54.19.

Anderson showed his sprint talent by adding the 100 free gold medal to his 50 free win from earlier, racing to the wall in 46.29. Fargo South’s Anthony Hollingsworth grabbed the silver in 47.64 and Gabel earned the bronze in 47.66.

Birnbaum dominated the 500 free, winning by 11 seconds with a final time of 4:48.76 for his second individual gold of the day. Also sneaking under the five-minute barrier were Grand Fork’s Garrett Craven (4:59.13) and West Fargo Sheyenne’s Vaughn Raimo (4:59.52).

Fargo North’s Fisher (22.48), Eric Meier (23.36), Caden Boutwell (22.05) and Gabel (20.84) combined to win the 4×50 free relay in 1:28.73. Century wasn’t too far behind in 1:29.09 for second and Minot finished third in 1:29.56.

Koebele, who led off the winning medley relay, powered home to a one-second individual win in the 100 back with a time of 53.06. Raimo raced to second in 54.17 and Minot’s Dominic Yoder finished third in 55.73.

Porter stole the show in the 100 breast, touching the wall in 55.59 to best the 55.68 state mark he set during prelims. The old mark belonged to Ethan Bahl’s 2014 state record of 56.67. Hulbert also was under the 60-second marker in 58.96 for second and West Fargo’s Noah Jamison placed third in 1:00.88.

Century’s Birnbaum (47.93), Koebele (49.68), Ryan Johnson (49.09) and Porter (47.41) concluded the meet by winning the 4×100 free relay in 3:14.11. Fargo North finished second in 3:17.23 while Minot took third in 3:19.47.

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Amy Sahli

5 years ago

Nice write up and we are only a few hours removed from finals event. Great meet ND swimmers! #packerstrong #westfargo

Mike Porter

5 years ago

Great article and thank you for the press. Correction on the breast state record, it was set in prelims at 55.59 by Jayden. The 59.68 was swam during the finals