Prep Blog: Spring State Tournaments Starting Up

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – We're entering the really busy stretch of the high school spring sports season. That's right, it's early June and it's championship week for several spring sports around the state.

By the time Saturday night comes around, state champions will be crowned in boys tennis, girls softball, lacrosse and boys and girls track and field. Next week will wrap up the high school spring season with the state golf tournament and the state baseball tournament.

Fittingly, the weather forecast for the week is slightly uneasy. It should be warm most of the week, but there's a chance for rain pretty much every day. It's no surprise as spring games and tournaments rely much more heavily on storm clouds than analyzing opponents and match-ups.

Here's a quick glance at the state tournament action this week what to expect.

State Boys Tennis Tournament

The best teams and individuals in Minnesota will be in Minneapolis starting Tuesday for the Class A and Class AA State Tennis Tournament. The main action will be at the Baseline Tennis Center, with action also at the Reed-Sweatt Center. On the boys side, Breck and Blake are looking likely to face off in the state semifinals, with that winner advancing to likely face Rochester Lourdes for the title. In Class AA, it's Rochester Mayo's tournament to lose.

In the individual competition, look for Forest Lake senior Dusty Boyer to win his fourth consecutive state championship in the AA boys singles bracket. Myles Tang is also a defending state champion who is back in Class A.

State Boys, Girls Lacrosse

Chanhassen High School will be a busy place Tuesday through Thursday as the host of the Boys and Girls State Lacrosse Championships. The boys start Tuesday with Eastview facing Edina and Totino-Grace taking on Eden Prairie. If the seeds hold, No. 1 Eastview would face No. 2 Totino-Grace for all the marbles Thursday night.

On the girls side, Eden Prairie faces Apple Valley and The Blake School will face Stillwater Wednesday night. If the seedings hold there, Eden Prairie would face Blake in a battle of public versus private schools for the state title.

Blake won the girls state title last year, while Benilde beat Eden Prairie for the boys title.

State Girls Softball

Caswell Park in Mankato will be a busy spot this week as 24 teams in three classes will compete for a state championship in girls softball. Three of the top 10 ranked teams in the state got there, and two will likely face off in the Class AAA semifinals. Top ranked Maple Grove (22-2) will probably face No. 2-ranked Forest Lake (23-1), with that winner likely facing No. 6 Bloomington Jefferson for the state title this weekend. Forest Lake got to the championship game last year and lost.

In Class AA, New Ulm ended an undefeated season for Pipestone with an extra inning win in their section championship. It makes the Eagles one of the favorites this week, and if they get to the state title game, they'll likely get St. Anthony Village (22-3).

In Class A, undefeated Cherry High School (23-0) is representing the Iron Range and is the early favorite. They got to the state title game and lost last year. Should be an exciting stretch of days in Mankato.

State Track And Field

Hamline University is again the site of this year's State Track and Field Championships. The Class AA meet starts at 9 a.m. Friday with preliminaries in most events and finals in the two-mile run, boys triple jump, pole vault and shot put and girls discus and long jump.

One athlete to keep an eye on in the boys field is Andover shot putter Thomas Anderson, who won his section meet with a throw of more than 64 feet. On the girls side, check out Angela Guenther of White Bear Lake in the discus. She is a favorite for a state title with a seeded throw of 154 feet, 3 inches.

There will be tons of action this week and next week as seasons wrap up in between graduation parties. So fill up the gas tank and get in on the fun.