Prep sports season hits the playoffs

Every year, the high school sports season cruises by in the blink of an eye. With the calendar hitting mid-to-late October already, teams from around the area are prepping for the playoffs in their respective sports. 

In football, the Three Lakes-Phelps 8-man football team got into the playoffs as a seven seed this season and will play its opening round playoff game at Laona-Wabeno Saturday afternoon. More on that game and the result will come from William Zuelke in this week’s sports section. 

For Northland Pines, it is on the cusp of a playoff spot in Division 4 and will learn Saturday during the bracket reveal show for the 11-player teams if they got a spot. It would be the team’s playoff berth since the 2020 season. This year, getting into the playoffs doesn’t have anything to do with your conference record, but now a football playoff metric number system. The top 32 teams in each division make the postseason. The top volleyball team in the area this year was Three Lakes, as it finished the regular season with 30-plus wins and a 12-0 NLC record, and was awarded the one seed in their section for the playoffs. That means the playoffs run through Three Lakes through the sectional semifinal if the Jays were to advance that far. 

Northland Pines had an improved season on the volleyball court and played competitive volleyball for much of the season. The Eagles will compete in D3 competition and grabbed the three seed. They will face the six-seeded Colby in the opening round of regionals this Tuesday. 

Phelps rounds out the local volleyball teams with the Knights playing in the D5 bracket. They got the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 seed White Lake this Tuesday. On the pitch, the Three Lakes-Phelps Bluejays worked through the season with a young roster and were rewarded with the three seed and a home game. The Jays will face Regis/McDonell Central Catholic, who they beat 3-1 a few weeks ago, on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. The winner will travel to play either at Washburn or host No. 7-seed Northland Lutheran or 10-seed Newman Catholic Saturday, Oct. 25. Northland Pines got the No. 5 seed with another young squad. The Eagles will travel to face the No. 4-seeded Barron on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. The winner will advance to Saturday’s regional final game. 

Lastly, the two local cross-country teams will run in sectional competition next weekend. Northland Pines will travel to Merrill Friday, Oct. 24, with D2 racing at 4:15 and 5 p.m. Three Lakes-Phelps will run at Rosholt Saturday, Oct. 25, in D3 action, with racing at 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. race times. Each team will either qualify for the state meet as a full team (boys or girls) or as individuals. Three Lakes junior Nolan Waltz is looking for

his third trip in three years to Wisconsin Rapids. The state meet is held on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Ridges Golf Course in Rapids.