Local basketball team qualifies for Pacesetter MIT

A local team has qualified for the Pacesetter Minnesota Invitational Tournament to be held Saturday at Maple Grove Middle School.

The 4th-grade girls lineup has Roseau, New Ulm, and East Grand Forks in Pool A, and Hill City/Northland-Remer, International Falls, and Chatfield in Pool B. After pool play games at 3 p.m. and 4:40 p.m., there will be a fifth, third and first-place games.

The 5th-grade boys first round matchups are Bemidji vs. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial at 9 a.m. and Minneapolis Green vs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville at 9:50 a.m., Stephen-Argyle vs. Perham at 9:50 a.m. and Rushford-Peterson vs. the Bemidji/LCWM loser at 10:40 a.m.

The 6th-grade girls first-round matchups are Breckenridge vs. Roseau at 9 a.m., and Moose Lake-Willow-River vs. Hawley, Menahga vs. Sleepy Eye and Bagley vs. Lanesboro, all at 9:50 a.m. Receiving first-round byes are Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, which will play at 11:30 a.m., and Lake City, Dover-Eyota and Minnewaska Area, which will all start at 1:20 p.m.

The eighth-grade boys first-round matchups, all at 9 a.m., are Two Harbors vs. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, Jackson County Central vs. Wabasha-Kellogg, and Hawley vs. Lyle-Pacelli. Receiving first-round byes and playing a 10:40 a.m. will be Perham, Grand Rapids, and Fillmore Central, along with Red Lake and Lanesboro, who'll open at 11:30 a.m.

Eight regional Pacesetter tournaments have been held with over 650 school/community teams participating in grades 4-9. The region champions play in the Pacesetter state tournaments, and the teams with only one loss in the regional will play in the MIT, each held over three weekends in June.

All teams will play three or four games. Complete brackets are posted on the Pacesetter website at http://www.pacesettersports.net. Scores will be posted.

Pacesetter Sports, based in Paynesville, conducts tournaments and camps for basketball and volleyball in six states.