The Missouri State High School Activities Association announced the postseason lineup on Friday, March 17. The classification and district assignments were unveiled on the first day of the spring season.
There were some significant changes, for instance, a Class 3 school was bumped to Class 5 due to the championship factor -- a certain number of team trophies in a set period that results in a jump in classes. Most years, if a private school wins at the lower classifications, they will move up to the next classes. However, there is a cap so a successful Class 1 school will likely never be more than a Class 3 school.
Without further ado, here is our breakdown.
BOYS
Principia won the title last year but moved up to Class 3 with the championship factor. The returning thee trophy teams are still in Class 1. Two of them, Worth County (second) and West Nodaway (fourth) are both in district 8.
Only one of the four teams that won a trophy last year is back in Class 2 this and that is New Covenant Academy.
Lawson (first), Whitfield (second) and Lutheran North (third) are all gone.
Class 1 champion Principia and Class 2 champion Lawson joins the classification, as does Lutheran North, third in Class 2. Third-place team East Newton and fourth-place finisher St. Mary's are back. Defending state champion Westminster Christian Academy and runners-up Lutheran St. Charles moved up.
This is the first class with all four trophy teams -- Kearney, West Plains, Festus, MICDS, respectively -- are back. Added to the mix is Class 3 runner-up Lutheran St. Charles and Whitfield, a runner-up in Class 2 last year. West Plains, near the Arkansas state line, got placed in a district with mostly St. Louis area teams so likely they will spend hours on a bus during the postseason.
Class 3 champion Westminster Christian joins the state's largest classification. Columbia Rock Bridge is the defending state champion and the three other trophy teams -- Joplin, Liberty North and Lee's Summit West -- are back. Willard, Raytown South and Camdenton are all schools that moved from Class 4 to 5. District 5 has schools from the Springfield and St. Louis areas, as well as mid-Missouri. The Columbia schools were placed with Kansas City-area schools. The two bootheel schools, Jackson and Poplar Bluff, are in a mostly St. Louis district.
GIRLS
Most of the teams that made the podium are back in Drexel (first), Delta (third) and East Atchison (fourth) though for this purpose we shall call them Tarkio as they are listed on the MSHSAA site. For those that don't know, that is the co-op between Fairfax and Tarkio and the combined team name the schools came up with. Class 1 runners-up Valle Catholic got moved up due to the private school championship factor.
The District 1 field will be loaded with Valle Catholic there as well as Saxony Lutheran, last year's third-place finishing team.
North Platte (first) and Monroe City (fourth) are also back, though runner-up Lawson got bumped up to Class 3. Father Tolton Regional Catholic moved down to Class 2.
Defending champion Westminster Christian Academy is gone, meaning there will be a new champion this year. Eldon (second), STEAM Academy (third) and Ste. Genevieve (fourth) all return. Lawson got slotted into district 8. The district with the largest swath is 4, which has teams near the Iowa border, down to St. Louis to mid-Missouri.
All four teams that brought home trophies last year are back, led by champion Parkway Central. West Plains (second), Kearney (third) and Nerinx Hall (fourth) are still the classifications. Raytown South and standout Zaya Akins are now in Class 5. District 4, 5 and 7 all have at least one team with a decent distance to trek.
The race for the Class 5 title this year may go through District 2, with defending champion Cardinal Ritter, as well as Class 3 champion Westminster Christian and fourth-place finishing Pattonville in the district as well. Runners-up Blue Springs and Lee's Summit West are close proximity-wise but will be in different districts.
Like the boys, District 5 has schools from the Springfield and St. Louis areas, as well as mid-Missouri. The Columbia schools were placed with Kansas City-area schools. The two bootheel schools, Jackson and Poplar Bluff, are in a mostly St. Louis district.