By Jeremy Brunner

Its that time of year, when the state basketball tournaments are in full swing. And its time for me to make some predictions. Don't worry, I have already struggled through the 1-A girls tourney. I selected the Intermountain Christian School to run through the tournament and take the crown. I was wrong. The Lions finished 8th in the tournament, while the Tabiona Tigers won four straight to take the title.

2-A Girls

The favorite in 2-A is the South Sevier Rams, and who am I to pick against them. The Rams are led by a pair of super sophs, including the unstoppable Jaden Parsons, just the latest in a long line of stars from the Parsons family. Other contenders include a North Summit team that ran through region play undefeated, a 15-6 Beaver club, and a Manti team that split its two games with South Sevier in the regular season.

3-A Girls

Staying with a theme of picking the favorites. I like the Emery Spartans. The best team in the state(record-wise) is 4-A's Mountain Crest Mustangs. Emery went into Hyrum and gave the Mustangs all they could handle, eventually losing by a point. Rachel Rasmussen is the leader on offense, but the Spartans are so balanced anybody can score. The only problem for Emery is that they meet the next-best team left in the tournament, the Hurricane Tigers, in round one. Plus the tourney is at Dixie State, which basically makes it a home game for Hurricane. There are more teams that could warm up and take the crown, including the Wasatch Wasps, one of three teams to beat Emery in the regular season.

4-A Girls

The list of contenders in 4-A is long. The Orem Tigers and the Box Elder Bees both have strong teams that could take the crown. Chavallah Washington is the leader for a deadly Murray club that is 18-3 on the year. But my pick is the Mountain Crest Mustangs. The Stangs have got better as the year has progressed. The Mustangs are led by Jaicee Kuresa, another Kuresa dominating at Mountain Crest. MC lost just two games all year long, both to Woods Cross.

5-A Girls

Just like in the 5-A boys, there are a bunch of teams that have the talent to take the title. Layton, Fremont, and Brighton are dark-horses who could get hot and win it. But the real powerhouses are Davis, Bingham, Skyline and Riverton. In the end, I believe it will be the defending champs. The Skyline Eagles and their superstar juniors Jenteal Jackson and Dani Peterson will take a second straight state crown.

2-A Boys

Millard and the American Leadership Academy have plenty of talent, and could win it all, but 2-A feels like a 2-dog race. North Summit plays vicious defense, and has lost just three games all year long. While South Sevier can score in bunches, and stop teams when they need to. I like the Rams. Derrick Forbush and Bryce Twitchell will lead South Sevier to the 2-A state title.

3-A Boys

The heaviest favorite in any class has to be Judge Memorial. While the Bulldogs are beatable, no 3-A team has done it all year long. There are some interesting challengers, like Delta who lost twice to Juan Diego, and no other games. There are the 'home' teams Pine View and Dixie. Bear River has a solid record as the champs up north. And then there's Logan. The Grizzlies will meet Judge in round one. Logan star Charles Abouo will miss the game as part of a suspension. That means a great game should turn into an easy Judge win. So, I will stick with the favorite again. No upsets here. Jaxon Myaer will lead Judge Memorial to the 3-A state title.

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