Boys' Sectional Assignment Analysis

by Aaron Brown

The following our some thoughts about the boys' sectional assignments revealed by the IHSA on Monday afternoon:

• The Fenwick sectional looks tough as always, as the defending state champs, #1 Fenwick, host three other Top 25 teams, including #3 Oak Park, #18 St Patrick, and #22 York. Maine East, Maine South, and Morton are also included in the mix at Fenwick.

• #16 Schaumburg and #25 Barrington are two of the top three teams at the Barrington sectional; the teams are currently battling for the Mid-Suburban League West title. #21 McHenry and other contenders like #34 Rolling Meadows and Fremd and will look to surprise at a sectional that seemingly always ends up with an underdog emerging and advancing to state. The nine-team playoff includes Conant, Elk Grove, Hoffman, and Palatine.

• The Glenbrook North sectional lineup looks familiar, as #7 Glenbrook South will need to fend off #10 Loyola, #11 Evanston, and #12 New Trier if they look to repeat as a state qualifier. Glenbrook North, Hersey, Prospect, and St Viator also landed at GBN.

• At the Lincoln-Way Central sectional, #15 Sandburg will have to deal with usual foes #8 Lincoln-Way East, #26 Homewood-Flossmoor, #27 Andrew, and #35 Lincoln-Way North if they are to repeat as sectional champions. Bradley, Bremen, and host Lincoln-Way Central round out the playoff lineup at this sectional.

• The Lyons Sectional features #5 Lyons and #6 Brother Rice, two teams who seem to always play closely contested games when they meet. They will need to avoid a challenge from #14 Curie, who could surprise both teams in a playoff situation. Others competing at LT are Morgan Park, R-B, Richards, St Rita, and Stagg.

• The Neuqua Valley sectional consists of the usual suspects from the Naperville area, with the only new inclusion being #23 Lockport. That should make for stronger than normal early-round matchups. #2 Naperville Central and #4 Neuqua Valley are the likely sectional finalists, but they shouldn't underestimate #19 Waubonsie Valley, #24 Naperville North, or Lockport. #30 Hinsdale South and #31 Hinsdale Central make this arguably the strongest sectional from top-to-bottom. St Charles East and St Charles North will also look to surprise the Naperville teams in the early rounds at NV.

• UIC is back in the mix as St Ignatius returns to sectional hosting duty. The #9 Wolfpack will have to deal with ranked teams like #13 Young, #28 Lane, #29 Mather, and #33 Latin. Mt Carmel, Northside, Payton, and Von Steuben also ended up at UIC this year.

• The Vernon Hills sectional looks similar to previous years, with #17 Mundelein and #20 Stevenson playing as the two featured teams in the playoffs. Other contenders playing at VH include Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Vernon Hills and Wheeling.