Class A at the One-Third Mark

<p>Compared to the other classes, Class A went much as expected in December, and as we now enter the 2nd one-third of the season (basically, the conference schedules in January and February), many of our favorites (conference and section) remain as they were 6 weeks ago. Here are some key exceptions to that rule.</p> <p>• <strong>Mountain Iron-Buhl</strong>, now 11-1, has reasserted itself, hammering Bigfork 59-40 in its own holiday tournament, to move ahead of the Huskies in Section 7A. MIB has moved from #6A to #2A since the pre-season. Bigfork has done just the opposite, going from #3A to #6A. Mary Burke, senior post, is having a big, big year, while junior point guard Macy Savela is holding her own, as coach Jeff Buffetta told us she would. Shoulda listened.</p> <p>• Goodhue, however, remains at #1A. If they finish up like this, you&#39;ll see a repeat of last year&#39;s Goodhue-MIB finale.</p> <p>• In Section 3A, <strong>Lac Qui Parle Valley</strong> (11-1) has moved ahead of Southwest MN Christian (6-2), though just at #9A to #10A in our rankings. They were #11A and #8A in our pre-season rankings, so this is a subtle shift. Well, except one of these 2 is likely to go to the state tournament, the other not. Not a subtle difference after all.</p> <p>• <strong>Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s</strong> (9-1) has moved ahead of crosstown rival Sleepy Eye (8-3) among Section 2A teams. SESM beat Wabasso last week, after the Rabbits beat Sleepy Eye public earlier in the season.</p> <p>• All of our other section favorites remain as such, with <strong>Menagha</strong> moving up among the projected state tournament entries and <strong>Heritage Christian</strong> moving down. Menahga, now 7-0, has moved from #12 to #5. The Braves remain the favorite in Section 5A, but have now inserted themselves into the conversation about state tournament seeds. Heritage, now just 5-5, remains atop our Section 4A list, but has dropped all the way from #2A to #17A.</p> <p>• The other biggest gainers from pre-season to today include <strong>Pelican Rapids</strong> (5-1, from unranked to #13A), <strong>Red Lake</strong> (9-1, from unranked to #20A), <strong>Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa</strong> (6-3, from unranked to #21A), <strong>Badger-Greenbush-Middle River</strong> (6-1, from unranked to #22A) and <strong>Houston </strong>(10-1, from unranked to #25A). Also, <strong>Grand Meadow</strong> (7-2) has moved from #23A to #16A, and <strong>Wabasso</strong> (5-2) from #25A to #18A.</p> <p>To summarize, again, 2 section favorites have changed from Bigfork in Section 7A and SW MN Christian in Section 3A to Mountain Iron-Buhl and Lac Qui Parle Valley. Right now, the state tournament could look something like this:</p> <p><strong>Possible State Tournament Matchups</strong></p> <p>Goodhue (#1 seed) vs. Heritage Christian</p> <p>Menahga (#4) vs. Lac Qui Parle Valley (#5)</p> <p>Mountain Iron-Buhl (#2) vs. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s</p> <p>Ada (#3) vs. Stephen-Argyle</p> <p><strong>Top Individuals</strong></p> <p>The top individuals in Class A so far this year are probably Sydney Lodermeier, Goodhue, senior guard; Mary Burke, , senior post, and Kristi Fett, Lyle/Austin Pacelli, also a senior post. No wonder their teams are ranked #1A, #2A and #3A. Alyssa Peterson, Menahga junior guard, is also having a big year. </p>