Kenyon-Wanamingo Moving to Gopher Conference Soon

The Kenyon-Wanamingo Knights are leaving the Hiawatha Valley League in the fall of 2021.  Activities Director Randy Hockinson says they "will be competing in the Gopher Conference starting in 2021-2022 once the members of the league approve their move."  That's more than likely to happen because the league asked K-W to become a member.

Hockinson says the K-W School Board and all the Knights coaches voted in favor of the "bittersweet move."  Hockinson told KDHL/POWER 96 the school is, "looking forward to being in a conference where all the schools have about the same enrollment."

One of the main reasons the move hasn't been made before now was the music competitions in the conferences.  Hockinson said it was bittersweet because the H-V-L has always been, "such a classy operation."

"For competition purposes this is a good move for us.  Especially in the 7th and 8th grade levels where the teams the last few years have not been able to compete with the larger schools in the H-V-L."  Kasson-Mantorville, Byron, Stewartville all have over 550 students in grades 9 through 12.

Kenyon-Wanamingo enrollment this year is 273 students in grades 9-12.  The rest of the Gopher Conference results are.

• United South Central 325
• Blooming Prairie 323
• Maple River 323
• Medford  265
• Bethlehem Academy  243
• New-Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva  271
• Waterville-Elysian-Morristown  226
• Hayfield  224

Hiawatha Valley League enrollments are:

• Kasson-Mantorville 617
• Byron  553
• Stewartville  552
• Rochester Lourdes  416
• Lake City 407
• Pine Island 365
• Cannon Falls  346
• Zumbrota-Mazeppa  339
• Triton 332
• Goodhue 199 actual  MSHSL number 203

The Gopher Conference would like to have 12 members so there are other schools that could be invited into the league.  Randolph with enrollment of 161 I know has been approached about the possibility.  St. Clair with 188 students has been invited and Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton with 210 might be a good fit.  Randolph and J-W-P are former members of the conference.