2022 Bellevue West Invitational: Opening Pools and Teams to Watch
It’s one of Nebraska’s best high school tournaments on opening weekend. As is tradition, the 2022 season will start for many of the state’s top teams at the Bellevue West Invitational on Aug 26 and 27. While state champions are…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingIt’s one of Nebraska’s best high school tournaments on opening weekend.
As is tradition, the 2022 season will start for many of the state’s top teams at the Bellevue West Invitational on Aug 26 and 27. While state champions are surely not crowned in August, this venue is always a nice early-season barometer for schools in the Omaha and Lincoln areas.
We have this year’s groupings, so let’s break it all down.
Pool A
Omaha Westside
Elkhorn South
Lincoln East
We were given one three-team pool at the Bellevue West Invite, and it’s a good one.
Omaha Westside sits atop this group, and that’s probably a reflection of the big expectations the Warriors have heading into this year. Last year’s appearance in the Class A semifinals was historic for this program, but Westside is not content with stopping there. The team will deploy an outside hitter duo that will be among the state’s best this year, and a wealth of other experienced players will back them up at every other position.
Elkhorn South and Lincoln East won’t back down from this challenge, though. For the Storm, this event will be about finding the right lineup combinations to replace a huge group of impactful seniors from last year’s team. We don’t need all the answers on opening weekend, so keep tabs on teams from this group.
Lincoln East, meanwhile, has its big group of seniors on this year’s team. Experience in ball control positions and the frontcourt will be one of the storylines I follow with the Spartans, and that veteran presence could find a groove at Bellevue West.
Pool B
Papillion-La Vista South
Western Christian
Omaha Marian
Millard South
There’s some championship pedigree in here.
Nebraska’s defending Class A state champion spearheads Pool B. Like many other Class A frontrunners, however, the Titans will have to begin a new era without some transformative players who graduated in the spring. Still, no one will doubt Papio South’s ability to reload, and this weekend could offer a glimpse of that.
Then, we have the “visitors.” Perennial Iowa powerhouse Western Christian is making a return trip to the Bellevue West Invite to face some of the best teams from across the Missouri River. This year’s Wolfpack team is coming off a runner-up finish in Class 2A. We’ll see if this is the start of a 2022 campaign that ends one spot better in November.
Don’t overlook Omaha Marian and Millard South in this pool. Both teams spent the 2021 season developing an impressive core of young talent, and both teams are a year wiser this fall with many of the same players coming back. These are two programs that always expect to be in the postseason discussion.
Pool C
Elkhorn North
Papillion-La Vista
Waverly
Omaha Duchesne
Class B is stacking Pool C. That’s a lot of letters.
Elkhorn North has already been tabbed as a state championship favorite after making the Class B semifinals a year ago. That’s a high bar for a program that is only entering its third season of existence, but the Wolves have talent that can make some serious noise. It all starts this weekend.
Waverly and Omaha Duchesne join the Class B party. Duchesne is an experienced team that can replicate last year’s appearance in the state championship, while Waverly has some new faces that will need to step in this year. Similar themes keep playing out across the entire Bellevue West Invite field.
Of course, Papillion-La Vista is lurking in the Pool C pack as the Class A outlier. Don’t underestimate these Monarchs, either. Several athletes on the roster had an extraordinary spring season on the club side, and I’d expect that momentum to carry into the fall.
Pool D
Millard West
Omaha Skutt Catholic
Millard North
Bellevue West
Still more intrigue to cover in the event’s final pool
Millard West represents another one of last year’s championship runner-ups that is looking for redemption in 2022. The Wildcats occupy a sort of middle ground between the lineup trends we’ve been discussing on this feature. There are some important departures from last year’s team that Millard West will need to replace, but the team also has a good group of returning veterans that could kickstart another championship run. We’ll see how that journey starts this weekend.
Of course, Omaha Skutt Catholic hasn’t experienced anything other than championship success for the past several years. Last year’s title, which marked seven in a row, was particularly impressive given all the talent that departed from the 2021 class. The SkyHawks keep rebuilding.
Keep an eye on Millard North and Bellevue West, both of which could sport some new-look lineups in 2022. The level of competition to start the season will be unforgiving, but I trust these schools to put up some highlight moments at this invite.