Looking at Section Changes for Next Season

While covering the boys basketball championship games Saturday at Target Center, the Minnesota State High School did its biennial section changes in many sports, some that will impact St. Louis Park and others that are more significant.  Here's a look at what the changes are for the next  two seasons.

For St. Louis Park, the football team will stay in Section 5, AAAAA but there will changes in other ports. In baseball, Mpls. South and cooper depart Section 6AAAA and it will become a six team section.  Both basketball teams remain in Class AAAA but on the boys side, Mpls. Washburn moves up from Class AAA to Class AAAA. Washburn moves up in girls basketball along with Bloomington Kennedy. Boys lacrosse stays in Section 5 with only one addition, the Osseo Orioles.  The girls lacrosse team switches from Section 5 to Section 6 and loses Benilde-St. Margaret's and Blake but joins South Suburban Conference schools Apple Valley, Eastview, Burnsville and Prior Lake. Both boys and girls soccer teams remain in Section 6AA.  No changes for  the girls but the boys will add Bloomington Kennedy and Richfield and lose Cooper to Class A.

The biggest change for St. Louis Park will be in boys hockey as they moves down from Section 6AA to Section 2A.  Instead of playing Edina, Wayzata and Benilde-St. Margaret's at section time, they will be in a section with Breck, Orono and Delano.

Other significant changes in section realignment are in boys basketball where the Mpls. North Polars will not be going for a Class AAA threepeat next season because they will move into Section 5AA. North's conference rival Roosevelt is also moving up.  The Teddies move from Section 4AA to Section 6AAA where they will join six time Class AAA champion DeLaSalle.  Also moving up is St. Croix Lutheran as the Crusaders will move from Section 4AA to Section 3AAA in both boys and girls basketball.  Groves Academy's Twin Cities Athletic Conference rivals Academy for Science and Agriculture, Cristo Rey Jesuit, Math & Science Academy and Nova Classical Academy move from Section 4A to Section 4AA.

In football, Benilde-St. Margaret's will be joined in Section 6AAAA by Orono and the SMB Wolfpack, a consolidation of Blake, St. Paul Academy and Minnehaha Academy.  St. Michael-Albertville moves from Class AAAAA to Class AAAAAA.

Last but not least is boys and girls hockey.  The Blake Bears run as two time Class A state girls hockey champions will be over because they will be moving up to Section 6AA. The Blake boys team will also be part of Section 6AA.  If you saw the exciting Class A boys final between the Hermantown Hawks and the Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake Moose, the good news is the Hawks will remain a Class A team but the Moose will be out of Section 5A and into Section 8AA. Also moving up is the Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers, who will go from Section 7A to Section 7AA.  Several other girls hockey teams will also move up a class.  Princeton/Big Lake/Becker go from Section 5A to Section 7AA, the Northfield Raiders go from Section 1A to Section 1AA and the New Prague Trojans move from Section 2A to Section 2AA.

So those are a lot of the changes that will take place next season with new rivalries to be developed and a goal that stays the same, advancing to the state tournament.