BP headed back to Class A

Blooming Prairie will return to Class A in the upcoming fall sports season after falling just short of the minimum student requirement to stay in Class AA.

The Awesome Blossoms' return to Class A comes after a brief two-year hiatus that was nearly extended by a surprisingly small margin.

“Our number with the Minnesota State High School League for our students was 210. The cutoff to be in Class AA is 211 for most sports. We were one student shy of being a double-A school,” said Blooming Prairie High School activities director Ali Mach.

According to Mach, the move back down to Class A is something the school’s athletics teams are excited about.

“We obviously can be competitive at both levels, but we definitely feel we will benefit from being a bigger Class A school as opposed to the smallest one in Class AA. For our size, I think it makes the most sense,” said Mach.

While the impending move will not tremendously affect the teams during the regular season, it will shake up post-season play.

By moving down a section, the Awesome Blossoms will face different opponents than they had the past two years.

More familiar foes from seasons past will reappear on schedules – a positive sign to many of Blooming Prairie’s teams.

According to Mach, the move up to Class AA in 2021 forced Blooming Prairie to schedule more opponents from their new class, costing the team some annual games to which they had become accustomed.

With the Awesome Blossoms back in Class A, teams will be able to reschedule some prior opponents and bring more rivalry games back to Steele County.

As the class shift takes place in the fall, Blooming Prairie has not yet been able to finalize a football season schedule but will once the section boundaries are updated.