The other top-ranked teams are Elk River in 5A, Hutchinson in 4A, Stewartville in 3A, Caledonia in 2A, Minneota in 1A and Nevis and Mountain Iron-Buhl tied for No. 1 in Nine-Person.

The class-by-class rankings are compiled for the third year in a row by the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Jim Paulsen, who takes votes from 11 other media members. Paulsen began managing the rankings when The Associated Press dropped them in 2022; the rankings still are distributed statewide by The Associated Press. They are released annually after the season’s second regular-season game and typically will be published online on Tuesdays.

The other voters: Randy Shaver, Talk North; Gary Giombetti, Mesabi Daily News; Ron Haggstrom, Minnesota Star Tribune; Jamey Malcomb, Duluth News Tribune; Joe Brown, West Central Tribune; Brian Jerzak, PrepRedZone; Steve Thomson, WCCO Radio; Chad Courrier, Mankato Free Press; David La Vaque, Minnesota Star Tribune; Pat Ruff, Rochester Post Bulletin; Jace Frederick, St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Paulsen also does his own ranking, new this season, the Minnesota Top 20. That ranking shows Paulsen’s opinion of the 20 strongest teams in the state, regardless of class. It typically will be published online on Mondays.

First-place votes in parentheses, record, total points