The Tomahawk Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A nine team group with some changes for the 24-25 season. We have a look at the Tomahawk now!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Conference Commentary</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Contenders</strong>: Cedar Mountain, Lester Prairie, Sleepy Eye</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cougars were three games over .500 last year and won half of their league games. With two all league players they move into a contending area this year. Lester Prairie moves from the Minnesota River to the Tomahawk and this is team that nearly went to state a season ago. The Bulldogs lost a lot from a good senior class but they have another wave as they always seem to have. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleepy Eye has two of their best three players from a 19-win team. They have size, skill, good young players coming up for depth, and three starters back overall. Sleepy Eye is a favorite in this league and a team that could push towards the top ten in the state possibly if things go right. [player_tooltip player_id='2447234' first='Landon' last='Wendinger'] broke school records for blocks and rebounds last year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleepy Eye is a favorite, but Springfield is THE favorite. They won 21 games last year and return a lot of their rotation including their best player [player_tooltip player_id='2575629' first='Brayden' last='Sturm'] who is the best guard in the league and arguably the best player in the league (he or Wendinger). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Compete with Most</strong>: GFW, New Ulm Cathedral, SESM</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>GFW is close to contender status, they just lost a couple key scorers from their 19 win team BUT they have an all league junior in [player_tooltip player_id='2119602' first='Cole' last='Jacobson']. New Ulm Cathedral was just over .500 last year but they lost five of their top six players to graduation so there will be a lot of spots that need to be filled. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleepy Eye-St. Mary's was a 20 win team but they lost four starters from last year's team and only return a couple rotation guys. They will still be a good team but more likely a team just outside of contending for that league title. But good. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rebuilding: </strong>Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, Wabasso</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart won only three games last year and they lost their best players. It's a total rebuild and based on last year's roster, the Mustangs have no seniors this year and few juniors. Wabasso was a five win team last year and their nine man rotation included six seniors. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>24-25 Conference Prediction</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(1) Springfield</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(2) Sleepy Eye</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(3) Lester Prairie</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(4) Cedar Mountain </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(5) Sleepy Eye-St. Mary's</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(6) GFW</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(7) New Ulm Cathedral</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(8) Wabasso</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(9) Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason All Tomahawk </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>First Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2575629' first='Brayden' last='Sturm'] of Springfield (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2447234' first='Landon' last='Wendinger'] of Sleepy Eye (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2447210' first='Blake' last='Schueller'] of Cedar Mountain (Sr) AC</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2119602' first='Cole' last='Jacobson'] of GFW (Jr) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2140563' first='Brayden' last='Heiderscheidt'] of Sleepy Eye (Soph)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Second Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2399032' first='Bryan' last='Buerkle'] of Springfield (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Devin Bahr of Lester Prairie (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blake Steffl of Cedar Mountain (Sr) HM</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2447226' first='Jake' last='Finstad'] of New Ulm Cathedral (Sr) HM</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>George Schwint of SEMS (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Third Team</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Easton Taylor of GFW (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ladamien Gatlin-Coellner of Lester Prairie (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kessler Severson of SESM (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tavyn Larson of Wabasso (Jr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lucas Mibrath of Springfield (Sr)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->