MSHSL announces competitive section assignments for 2023-2024, 2024-2025 school years
The Minnesota State High School League has announced competitive section assignments for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years, and some changes will be forthcoming for area schools.
In football, the Austin Packers will be moving from Section 1AAAAA to 1AAAA, and the four other teams in Section 1AAAA will include Byron, Kasson-Mantorville, Winona and Faribault. The section alignments were shaken up after Rochester Mayo, who won Section 1AAAAA last year will move up to become the only outstate Class AAAAAA team in Minnesota, and both Albert Lea and Stewartville move from Section 1AAAA to 1AAA. The Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms will be moving out of Section 2AA back into Section 1A with Faribault Bethlehem Academy, Fillmore Central, Goodhue, Hayfield, Kenyon-Wanamingo, Rushford-Peterson and Wabasha-Kellogg. Blooming Prairie will also be moving from Section 1AA to 1A in other sports as well, including volleyball, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball.
Another notable shift for an Austin High School athletic program will be for girls hockey, as the Packers will be bumped up from Section 1A to 1AA, and will now compete with Farmington, Lakeville South, Mankato East, Northfield, Owatonna, Rochester Century/John Marshall and Rochester Mayo.
