My Way to Early Top 5 for Class 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 1 crowned a new champion in Winona and brought back everyone from that team. Bismarck pushed Winona to the brink of defeat before dropping the 5^th set. Advance finished as the runner-up after winning the two previous titles. Leopold will give Advance trouble next season if they are still stuck in the same district. The dark horse for next year will be Lockwood, as they return the bulk of their offense and defense. Here are my picks for the top 5 in Class 1 next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Winona Wildcats 34-3-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending Class 1 champion returns everyone from this year's team. The only Class 1 team that pushed Winona was Bismarck in the sectional round, and Winona won in five sets. The Wildcats have back the top Class 1 2028 kill leader, <strong>Sadie Kile,</strong> with 547 kills and 339 digs. The two 2026 players returning are <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237001' first='Taylor' last='Williams']</strong> and her 421 kills with 274 digs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232323' first='Lexi' last='Lindsey']</strong> will be a fourth-year starting setter and carries into her final season 3000 career assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bismarck Indians 31-6-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bismarck was the only Class 1 team to give Winona any fight, and if they had a different path to the final four, Bismarck would have been there. 2026 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='236994' first='Ashley' last='Hawkins']</strong> will return for her final season on the left pin and bring back her 557 kills. 2028 middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='729484' first='Loryn' last='Pierson']</strong> finished with 286 kills, and classmate libero <strong>Karlee Dickey</strong> brings back her 304 digs. If 2028 <strong>Ayla Hawkins</strong> returns from injury, a 6'0” middle Bismarck will be a hazardous team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Advance Hornets 23-12-2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The program to beat in Class over the last decade has been the Hornets from Advance. The Class runners-up lost their best player but returned a solid core of six, and some of them have yet to miss the final four in their careers. 2027 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='475335' first='Olivia' last='Kennedy']</strong> will be the team's highlight as she will patrol the middle and is the top returning kill leader with 303. <strong>Cashlynn Sturgeon,</strong> another 2027 middle, returns with 190 kills; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237006' first='Emma' last='Eilers']</strong> will be the top returning all-around player with 210 kills and 382 digs. Advance is built for the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leopold Wildcats 22-8-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats lost to Advance this season in districts, and they are another team stacked with talented youth. 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='735557' first='Piper' last='Lincoln'] is the top returning attacker with 328 kills, 2027 <strong>Rylee</strong> <strong>Schreiner</strong> returns 323 kills, and one of the top 2027 Class 1 setters in <strong>Ashtyn Van de Ven</strong> with her 1664 career assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lockwood Tigers 16-18-3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The record could throw you off, but Lockwood played three 2028 and four 2027 players. Those seven bring back 952 kills, led by 2028 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='729434' first='Asa' last='Lasater']</strong> and her 469 kills. 2028 <strong>Peyton Lasater</strong> will slide into the different color jersey with 383 digs. 2027 hitters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='732889' first='Reese' last='Whitesell']</strong> and <strong>Jessie Thieman</strong> return to give the Tigers a tough core of four to help build around.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->