Three Rivers Conference Preview

The Three Rivers Conference has two of the best teams in Class AA in Caledonia and St. Charles. Last year, the two teams combined to go 55-6. Both teams return loads of talent and both should be considered among the best teams in Class AA. There's a dropoff after those two schools, though Rushford-Peterson, Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Dover-Eyota and Wabasha-Kellogg all could be strong teams this season. <strong>State Contender: Caledonia, St. Charles</strong> Caledonia and St. Charles met in the Section 1AA final last year and the Warriors won in impressive fashion. The Saints lost three games all of last year. Two of them were at the hands of the Warriors. The two teams combined to win 55 games last season. Both teams should be extremely strong again this year. The Warriors return one of the best players in the entire state in junior guard <strong>Owen King</strong>. King's committed to South Dakota State and averaged better than 20 points and six assists a season ago. The Warriors are much more than a one-man team though. <strong>Noah King</strong> was an all-conference player last year as an eighth-grader and <strong>Andrew Goergen</strong> is back too. And in a case of the rich getting richer, the Warriors added 6-foot-5 forward <strong>Marten Morem</strong> via transfer from Blooming Prairie. The Saints might not have a lot of size this upcoming season, but they've got a cache of talented guards that very few teams can stack up with<strong>. Justin Ruhberg</strong> is back after averaging 15 points and four assists. He's one of the top guards in Class AA and he's got a lot of help around him. <strong>Carson Jenson</strong> averaged 10 points and six boards a year ago and <strong>Kaden Vaughn</strong>, <strong>Keagan Maloney</strong> and <strong>Drew Leistikow</strong> are all guys to watch. [caption id="attachment_111119" align="alignright" width="224"] Justin Ruhberg - St. Charles (photo by Winona Daily News)[/caption] It's a shame both teams can't get to the state tournament, but assuming the two meet up in sections, the winner looks like a potential state title contender. <strong>On the verge: Rushford-Peterson</strong> Rushford-Peterson might be one of the best teams in Class A this season, but the Trojans are in quite the minefield of a section. Goodhue and Spring Grove might be two of the top five teams in the state, so if the Trojans are going to go deep, they'll have to earn it. They've got talent. <strong>Noah Carlson</strong> is one of the best pure athletes in the state and averaged more than 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. <strong>Luke Rasmussen</strong> is also back after averaging nine points per game. <strong>In the middle: Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Wabasha-Kellogg, Winona Cotter, La Crescent, Dover-Eyota</strong> The Bulldogs won 10 games a year ago and lost eight games by six points or less. They should improve on that win total this year with several top players back. <strong>Barron Holtz</strong> is one of the top guards in the conference. <strong>Gavin Folkert</strong> averaged double-figures a year ago and Evan Burdick gives them a third quality returnee. Wabasha-Kellogg won 15 games a year ago and while the Falcons lost Ryan Wolfe, they've got plenty of talent still around. Zach Kjeseth and Jackson Gossee team up to form a terrific backcourt tandem and Liam Blaschko gives them a third scoring option. Dover-Eyota won just nine games last season but looks capable of increasing that total this winter. <strong>Brady Williams </strong>is just a freshman, but he'll make a big impact for the Eagles. <strong>Connor Martin</strong> might be one of the top big men in the league and Brady Pankonin is back as well. Winona Cotter won eight games a year ago and should be better this year. <strong>Noah Nachtigal</strong> is back after a solid junior season. Josh Salwey and Bryant Gernes give the Ramblers a solid core of returners. La Crescent's got a solid pair of guards back in <strong>Jason Gurholt</strong> and <strong>Ben Nelson</strong>. Gurholt averaged 13 points and Nelson averaged 11. Both guys connected on about 40 percent of their 3-point attempts as year ago. <strong>Rebuilding: Lewiston-Altura, Southland, Chatfield, Kingsland, Fillmore Central</strong> Lewiston-Altura lost Cullin Neeck to graduation, which means the Cardinals need to replace more than 20 points per game. Spencer Spletz is back after averaging more than 10 points per game as a sophomore. Bradley Miller and Alex Brown are also back. So the Cardinals might be closer to “in the middle.” Chatfield lost a lot from a team that won just six games last year. The Gophers lose Carter Duxbury, Aaron Paulson, Tristin Aguiar and Cole Hines. Parker Fossum is back but he'll need a lot of help from a lot of unproven players. Southland went 11-13 last season and returns Jared Landherr, Thomas Bottema and Chris Webber. Landherr was very good as a sophomore and should be an all-conference type player this winter. Kingsland won 10 games a year ago and has to replace top scorer Quinn Larson. Zach Bubany and Ian Meisner give them a solid inside-outside duo. Fillmore Central won eight games last year and lost Trace Tollefson and Alex Lange. Sam Rustad and Riley Means are back. But the Falcons won just three conference games last year and lost 10 conference games by double-digits. <strong>Conference Power Ranking</strong> <ol> <li>Caledonia</li> <li>Charles</li> <li>Rushford-Peterson</li> <li>Plainview-Elgin-Millville</li> <li>Wabasha-Kellogg</li> <li>Dover-Eyota</li> <li>La Crescent</li> <li>Winona Cotter</li> <li>Lewiston-Altura</li> <li>Southland</li> <li>Kingsland</li> <li>Chatfield</li> <li>Fillmore Central</li> </ol> <strong>Preseason All TRC</strong> <strong>First Team</strong> Owen King, Caledonia, Jr. Justin Ruhberg, St. Charles, Sr. Barron Holtz, P-E-M, Sr. Noah King, Caledonia, Fr. Carson Jenson, St. Charles, Sr. <strong>Second Team</strong> Gavin Folkert, P-E-M, Sr. Noah Carlson, R-P, Sr. Jackson Gosse, W-K, Sr. Parker Fossum, Chatfield, Sr. Brady Williams, D-E, Fr. <strong>Third Team</strong> Keagan Maloney, St. Charles, Jr. Marten Morem, Caledonia, Jr. Luke Rasmussen, R-P, Sr. Zach Kjeseth, W-K, Jr. Noah Nachtigal, Winona Cotter, Sr. <strong>Fourth Team</strong> Jared Landherr, Southland, Jr. Jason Gurholt, La Crescent, Sr. Ben Nelson, La Crescent, Jr. Connor Martin, D-E, Jr. Kaden Vaughn, St. Charles, Jr.