Section Realignment – Top Ten Things to Know
What are the ten biggest things that catch the eye in the section realignment? NHR has you covered. One. After all the good teams that Rochester JM has had that were beaten by Lakeville North, after all the years of…
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Continue ReadingWhat are the ten biggest things that catch the eye in the section realignment? NHR has you covered.
One. After all the good teams that Rochester JM has had that were beaten by Lakeville North, after all the years of Michael Hurt and Matthew Hurt being defeated in the section final and the state of Minnesota not being able to see them at state, Lakeville North is moved out of the section the year after Matt Hurt graduates. And in the place of North is Northfield. So like the past, Lakeville South and Lakeville North aren’t in the same section despite being in the same school district just a few miles apart. North joins Eastview, Apple Valley, Park of Cottage Grove etc in 3AAAA.
Two. Moving up to AAAA is Northfield and Cooper. Both were back end top ten Class AAA schools at one point this past winter. Henry Sibley, St. Francis, and St. Cloud Tech moved down. Lakeville North is the ONLY team in AAAA that moved from one section to another in a lateral movement.
Three. Section of Doom stays the same (most things stayed the same). 2AAAA with Prior Lake, Edina, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Shakopee, and Chaska (among others) did not change. It will continue to be a slugfest commonly with four or five of the best ten teams in the state in the same group. Most sections had little to no changes in Class AAAA .
Four. Waseca moves down. The first thought was that Waseca could be preseason number one in Class AAA coming into the season. Then word arrived that Minnehaha Academy was moving into Class AAA so the excitement was that the Hawks, Jays, and DeLaSalle Islanders would be some real heavy hitters (Mankato East will be right there too). But then we see that Waseca moves down to Class AA and immediately you have to think they are the AA favorite. They bring back six of their top eight guys from the Class AAA second place team. Not to mention they also beat Minneapolis North last year.
Five. Minnehaha Academy goes to 4AAA. Next year two of the elite teams in Class AAA will be in the same section and that is Minnehaha Academy and Mahtomedi. Then you add in that Columbia Heights is in this group with their young squad (they just finished runners up) and Totino-Grace is there too and you have a tough section.
Six. A nine team big school section. For the first time in a long time we have a nine team section in AAA because there are 65 teams in Class AAA. There are 62 in AAAA but 65 in Class AAA. One more in AAAA would of been nice. I’m sure we all have thoughts on who that could be and how fun of a change it may have been.
Seven. 2AA just got tougher! Jordan and St. Peter duked it out in the section final last year but St. Peter switched spots with Waseca. The ever growing St. Peter area is now with Mankato East and Marshall while Waseca and Jordan will be section favorites.
Eight. Breath easy 4AA! With the Redhawks gone a state title team will come from Cristo Rey, St. Croix Prep, or one of the other St. Paul city schools or metro private schools in that area. It should be a wide open group of teams with Cristo Rey and St. Croix Prep being the favorites.
Nine. The 2A group of Class A is known for beating one another up pretty much all year and through sections, and then slipping at the state tournament. The section losses Minnesota Valley Lutheran (who moves up) and teams like Lester Prairie and Mayer Lutheran who play many metro schools and are close to the metro (and have girls teams that are in 4A section wise) continue to be in an oustate section because of the charter programs and such in the Twin Cities that only have boys teams competing.
Ten. Overall there doesn’t look to be an overwhelming amount of change overall. Some areas have become bigger and moved up, others became smaller and moved down. Minnehaha Academy and Waseca movement are the only real headliners, that and Rochester JM shaking their heads with Lakeville North moving NOW.