Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – On Friday, the MSHSL has announced the realignment of high school sports and activities sections for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.
Classes and sections are determined by a school’s enrollment numbers in grades 9 through 12, as well as geographic location.
Here is how the realignment will affect the Detroit Lakes Lakers:
Baseball – 8AAA will expand from five to eight teams in the spring of 2022. Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, and Fergus Falls will all remain in the section. Bemidji will move up a class and join 8AAAA. Rocori, Sauk Rapids-Rice, and St. Cloud Apollo will slide over from 5AAA, Willmar will move from 6AAA, and St. Cloud Tech drops down from 8AAAA.
Old Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Little Falls
New Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, Rocori, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
Basketball, Boys and Girls – Section 8AAA will remain an eight-team section, but there will be a couple of changes. Bemidji and Sartell-St. Stephen will move up to 8AAAA. Rocori will join the section from 6AAA, as will Willmar from 2AAA.
Old Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, Sartell-St. Stephen, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech
New Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, Rocori, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
Cross Country, Boys and Girls- A big change is coming to cross country as the sport expands from two classes to three (which, in my opinion, is a long time coming…) The Lakers will remain in 8AA, but will see nine teams leave 8AA in the fall. Bemidji, Brainerd, Moorhead and Sartell-St. Stephen will all move up to the new Class 8AAA, St. Cloud Apollo, Monticello, Becker, Foley, and St. Cloud Tech will all move to 5AA. Albany, East Grand Forks, Melrose, New London-Spicer, Pequot Lakes and Thief River Falls will all make the jump from Class A to 8AA.
Old Section 8AA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Foley, Little Falls, Monticello, Moorhead, Rocori, Sartell-St. Stephen, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
New Section 8AA – Albany, Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Melrose, New London-Spicer, Pequot Lakes, Rocori, Thief River Falls, Willmar
Dance – Laker Dance will see Section 4AA expand from 12 to 15 teams. Sartell will move up a class to 8AAA, St. Cloud Cathedral will move down a class to 8A, and Melrose will slide to 2AA. Seven new teams will join Class 4AA next winter.
Old Class 4AA – Albany, Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Foley, Melrose, Monticello, Pequot Lakes, Rocori, Sartell, St. Cloud Cathedral
New Class 4AA – Albany, Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Big Lake, Detroit Lakes, Foley, Little Falls, Monticello, Pequot Lakes, Rocori, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Francis, Virginia, Zimmerman
Football – Class 8AAAA will remain a small five-team conference. Playoff rival and two-time defending section champ Rocori will remain in the section with Detroit Lakes and Little Falls. Grand Rapids (who just joined the section two years ago) will move to 7AAAA and Willmar will move to 2AAAA. Perrenial state-contender Becker will join the section, and St. Cloud Apollo will drop down from 8AAAAA to round out the five teams.
Old Section 8AAAA – Detroit Lakes, Grand Rapids, Little Falls, Rocori, Willmar
New Section 8AAAA – Becker, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, Rocori, St. Cloud Apollo
Golf, Boys – A unique situation surrounds the Lakers Girls and Boys golf teams. The Boys are in Class AA, while the Girls are in Class AAA. Next year, they will both be in Class AAA. The Boys will go from competing in the 16-team Class 8AA to the twelve-team 8AAA next spring.
Old Section 8AA – Bagley, Barnesville, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, Frazee, Hawley, Park Rapids, Perham, Roseau, Thief River Falls, United North Central, Wadena-Deer Creek, Warroad
New Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Brainerd, Buffalo, Detroit Lakes, Moorhead, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
Golf, Girls – The Lakers Girls golf team will remain in Class 8AAA next spring. The only changes will be Monticello moving to 7AAA and Rocori making the jump from 6AA.
Old Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Brainerd, Buffalo, Detroit Lakes, Monticello, Moorhead, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
New Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Brainerd, Buffalo, Detroit Lakes, Moorhead, Rocori, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
Gymnastics – Class 8A will trim one team from 2020 with Morris/Hancock moving to Class 6A. All other seven teams remain the same.
Old Section 8A – Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, LPGE-Browerville, Melrose, Morris/Hancock, Park Rapids/Menahga/Nevis, Perham
New Section 8A – Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, LPGE-Browerville, Melrose, Park Rapids/Menahga/Nevis, Perham
Hockey, Boys – Section 8A will remain unchanged in 2021. The same 10 teams will return next winter, with the addition of the Crookston/Fertile-Beltrami co-op.
New Section 8A – Bagley/Fosston, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Kittson County Central, Lake of the Woods, Park Rapids Area, Red Lake Falls, Thief River Falls, Warroad
Hockey, Girls – Section 8A for Girls Hockey will increase from five to six teams with the addition of the International Falls Broncos next winter.
Old Section 8A – Crookston, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, Warroad
New Section 8A – Crookston, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, International Falls, Thief River Falls, Warroad
Nordic Ski, Boys and Girls – Class 8A for Boys and Girls Nordic Ski will drop from 14 to 12 with St. Cloud Tech and St. Cloud Apollo/Sauk Rapids-Rice each sliding to Class 5A for the 2021-22 season.
Old Section 8A – Alexandria, Bemidji, Brainerd/Pequot Lakes, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Moorhead, Pillager, Sartell-St. Cloud Cathedral, St. Cloud Tech, St. John’s Prep, TrekNorth, Willmar, St. Cloud Apollo/Sauk Rapids-Rice
New Section 8A – Alexandria, Bemidji, Brainerd/Pequot Lakes, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Moorhead, Pillager, Sartell-St. Cloud Cathedral, St. John’s Prep, TrekNorth, Willmar
Soccer, Boys and Girls – Just like cross country, soccer will also be expanding from two classes to three next fall. The Lakers Boys and Girls will each move from Class 8A to Class AA and will go from competing in an 18-team section split between the North and the South to an eight-team section. Alexandria and East Grand Forks will also join the Lakers in the new 8AA. Bemidji will make the jump from Class A to Class AAA.
Old Section 8A North – Alexandria, Bemidji, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, Hillcrest Lutheran, Pelican Rapids, Walker-Hackensack-Ackley/CL-B (girls only)
New Section 8AA – Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Little Falls, Rocori, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech
Softball – Section 8AAA will see two teams (Bemidji and Sartell-St. Stephen) move up to 8AAAA, and one team (Fergus Falls) drop down a class to 8AA. Four 5AAA schools will slide over to make up a new eight-team section
Old Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Sartell-St. Stephen, Sauk Rapids-Rice
New Section 8AAA – Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, Rocori, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
Swim and Dive, Boys – Section 5A sees two schools (Bemidji and Sartell) make the jump from Class A to Class AA next fall. The other eight teams will remain the same.
Old Section 5A – Alexandria, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Melrose/Sauk Centre, Morris Area, Park Rapids Area, Perham, Sartell, Thief River Falls
New Section 5A – Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Melrose/Sauk Centre, Morris Area, Park Rapids Area, Perham, Thief River Falls
Swim and Dive, Girls – Just like the boy’s section, Bemidji leaves Class A to join AA. Grand Rapids will also be leaving the section, being placed in 6A.
Old Section 8A – Bemidji, BGMR/Roseau/Warroad, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Fosston, Grand Rapids, Park Rapids, Perham, Thief River Falls
New Section 8A – BGMR/Roseau/Warroad, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Fosston, Park Rapids, Perham, Thief River Falls
Tennis, Boys – The only change coming to 8AA in boys tennis is Brainerd sliding to 7AA.
Old Section 8AA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Big Lake, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Monticello, Moorhead, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
New Section 8AA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Big Lake, Detroit Lakes, Monticello, Moorhead, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
Tennis, Girls – Section 8AA will expand from 16 to 18 teams. Brainerd will move to 7AA, Pillager will drop to 8A. Annandale, East Grand Forks, Perham/New York Mills and Thief River Falls will all make the jump from A to AA.
Old Section 8AA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Big Lake, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Foley, Little Falls, Moorhead, Pillager, Rocori, Sartell, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
New Section 8AA – Alexandria, Annandale, Becker, Bemidji, Big Lake, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, Foley, Little Falls, Moorhead, Perham/New York Mills, Rocori, Sartell, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Thief River Falls, Willmar
Track, Boys and Girls – Track and Field will expand to three classes next spring, so big changes are coming to 8AA. Detroit Lakes, Alexandria, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Rocori, and Willmar will be the only teams that return to the 16-team section in 2022. Bemidji, Brainerd, Moorhead, and Sartell will each move up a class, while incoming teams Albany, East Grand Forks, Melrose, New London-Spicer, Pequot Lakes, and Thief River Falls will move up from Class A.
Old Section 8AA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Foley, Little Falls, Monticello, Moorhead, Rocori, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech, Willmar
New Section 8AA – Albany, Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Melrose, New London-Spicer, Pequot Lakes, Rocori, Thief River Falls, Willmar
Volleyball – Volleyball will also expand to three classes next fall Four teams (Bemidji, Brainerd, Moorhead, Sauk Rapids-Rice) will all move up to Class AAA. Big Lake and Monticello will move to 5AAA. Little Falls and Rocori will join the section to make it an even eight teams.
Old Section 8AA – Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Big Lake, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Monticello, Moorhead, Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech
New Section 8AA – Alexandria, Becker, Detroit Lakes, Little Falls, Rocori, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Apollo, St. Cloud Tech
Wrestling – Section 8AA will say goodbye to Pierz as they move to 7AA. Albany will join the section from 6AA, and Park Rapids Area makes the jump from Class A to AA.
Old Section 8AA – Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Fergus Falls, Perham, Pierz, Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus, Roseau, Sauk Center-Melrose, Thief River Falls, United Clay Becker
New Section 8AA – Albany, Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Fergus Falls, Park Rapids, Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus, Perham, Roseau, Sauk Center-Melrose, Thief River Falls, United Clay Becker
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