Class AAA: 3 Must-Watch Section Tournaments
Will Hastings be able to repeat their 2023 magic?
The landscape of Class AAA has completely changed. Hastings' improbable 2023 State Championship marked the beginning of a new era in Class AAA wrestling. In the 15 years prior to Hastings’ Championship, only three teams had won a state title, including eight by Apple Valley, two by St. Michael-Albertville, three by Shakopee, and one title shared between Apple Valley and St. Michael-Albertville. But now, the Class AAA Title could belong to anyone. St. Michael-Albertville was the heavy favorite all season, but suffered a late January loss to Stillwater. Mounds View beat Stillwater earlier in the season, but will have to get past them in Section 4AAA. We can’t forget about Shakopee, who also owns a victory over Stillwater. Class AAA is finally anyone’s game. Here are the three section tournaments I’m most excited for:
#1) Section 4AAA
The favorite: Mounds View
The other contenders: Stillwater
If you’re looking for a David and Goliath type of battle, you’re in the wrong spot. If you’re here for the Goliath and Goliath battle, welcome to Section 4AAA. This Stillwater-Mounds View rivalry deserves an entire page to itself. Stillwater has won Section 4AAA for the past 7 years, including three state finals appearances. If they make it to the big dance, can they finally get that elusive state title? This year, they’re the only team to knock off the nationally-ranked juggernaut, St. Michael-Albertville.
Mounds View is the new up-and-comer on the block, and I’m sure they’d like to wash the bad taste from 2023. Mounds View knocked off Stillwater in the 2023 regular season, but fell to Stillwater in the section finals. This year, Mounds View once again won the regular season matchup 39-21 after three consecutive pins to close the dual. Can Mounds View rewrite their story and win the all-important section final? The winner of Section 4AAA is going to be a strong contender for the 2024 Class AAA State Title.
#2) Section 6AAA
The favorite: Shakopee
The other contenders: Waconia, Chaska/Chanhassen, Eden Prairie
The southwest side of the Twin Cities may be home to the greatest depth of wrestling talent of any section in Class AAA. Shakopee is the #2 ranked team in state, and will likely receive the top seed in Section 6AAA. However, since Shakopee belongs to the South Suburban Conference and most of the other teams belong to the Lake Conference (or the Metro West), there is a lack of head-to-head results to give a strong inclination of which teams match up best with Sabers.
Waconia won Section 6AAA last year and three of the last four years, but they’re going to have a tough task even making it back to the finals. Waconia, Chaska/Chanhassen, and Eden Prairie all exchanged narrow wins and losses amongst each other during the regular season. Seeding is going to be a mess, and the semi finals are going to be thrillers. Section 6AAA is going to be loaded with thrilling individual matches as well. It is CAN’T MISS entertainment on the southwest side of the cities.
#3) Section 8AAA
The favorite: Willmar
The other contenders: Bemidji, Moorhead, Brainerd
This is a safe space, right? Full transparency here: I have no idea what on God’s green Earth to expect from Section 8AAA. Out of the last eight section champions, six have gone to Willmar and 2 have gone to Bemidji. But this year is a much different story. EVERYONE in Section 8AAA has lost at least one dual to another 8AAA team. Willmar has just one loss within the section (39-28 vs Moorhead) which will likely secure them the #1 seed, but that certainly won’t guarantee them a trip to the finals. Bemidji, Moorhead and Brainerd have all beaten each another. Heck, even St. Cloud Tech has an early season win against Bemidji! The semis in 8AAA will be just as good if not better than the section final. So, if you’re an adrenaline junky that loves unpredictability within your section wrestling tournaments, type “Willmar” into your GPS on Friday, February 16th and put the car in drive.
The Rest of the Races (in no particular order):
Section 1AAA
The favorite: Albert Lea Area
The other contenders: Northfield, Owatonna and Rochester Mayo
This year, Section 1AAA greatly improved when Albert Lea Area moved up from 1AA and young teams like Northfield and Owatonna continued to grow. Going into the year, Section 1A was anyone’s to claim, but over the course of the year Albert Lea emerged as the leader of the pack. However, they only beat Northfield by 9 during the regular season, with plenty of opportunities for Northfield to close that deficit, should the Raiders make it to the Section Finals. That task will be challenging, though, as Northfield only beat Owatonna by five and Rochester Mayo by two during the regular season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see any combination of these four teams wrestling for the 1AAA title.
Section 2AAA
The favorite: Apple Valley
The other contenders: New Prague, Farmington, Eastview and Prior Lake
If you love parity, boy, do I have a section for you. Two-time reigning Section 2AA Champ, Apple Valley, has all but locked up the #1 seed with a 7-0 performance within the section. However, the lone team they haven’t matched up with is 2023 State Runner-Up New Prague. New Prague is up from AA this year, and only has one singular loss within the section (31-30 vs Farmington). Farmington should have a compelling case for the #2 seed as well, but they possess a wonky 1-point loss to Eastview when State Champ Cole Han-Lindemeyer was out of the lineup. To make things every weirder, Prior Lake has beaten Eastview, but lost to New Prague and Farmington. My head is spinning. I’m glad I don’t have to seed two through five in this section. CHAOS!
Section 3AAA
The favorite: Hastings
The other contenders: Eagan and Park
This Hastings team looks very different compared to their state championship team from one year ago, but once again they’ll be the favorite in Section 3AAA. The question is whether or not they’ll be challenged in their mission to retain the 3AAA title. Eagan is likely the closest competitor. Hastings only beat Eagan by five in their dual earlier this year, but they didn’t wrestle state-ranked big man Derrick Steinke so that’s a nice card for Hastings to have in their back pocket if they need to beat Eagan once again. It’s no guarantee that Eagan will reach the finals, as Park is likely to be a top-3 seed along with Eagan and Hastings. Park defeated Eagan 44-27 on February 8th and they could meet up again in the section semis, less than 10 days later.
Section 5AAA
The favorite: St. Michael-Albertville (STMA)
The other contender: Wayzata
STMA wrestled three of their section opponents during the regular season, and only gave up a total of 14 team points. All 14 team points were scored by Wayzata, who is the favorite to make it to the section finals along with STMA. The Knights have over 20 consecutive trips to the State Tournament between AAA and AA, so it will be a tall (but not impossible) task for Wayzata or another 5AAA team to pull off the upset.
Section 7AAA
The favorite(s): Anoka and Forest Lake
The other contenders: Literally everyone
Section 7AA features a pair of favorites followed by a bevy of teams that we just can’t forget about. Anoka and Forest Lake both went undefeated in the section during the regular season, which is seemingly quite fitting for the 2023 section finalists. But neither team is particularly far ahead of Andover, Coon Rapids, or Cambridge-Isanti for that matter. Heck, while we’re at it - Blaine only lost to Forest Lake by 6, and St. Francis was a section finalist last year in AA. This might be the only section in the state that boasts eight average or better wrestling teams.