Into the future: 10 stories to look for in 2013
Published 10:52 am Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Austin's Caroline Hackel comes off the vault during her second attempt against Mankato East. The Packer gymnasts finished fifth last year, but have their sights set much higher in 2013.
8. Packers excited
The upcoming year could be an exciting one for the Austin Packers. Austin’s boys basketball, gymnastics and dance teams all have good chances of getting back to the state tournament.
The Packer boys basketball team 8-0 overall and is ranked No. 2 in Class ‘AAA’ and the team. Austin has already picked up big wins over Edina, Easview and No. 9 ranked New Prague.
The Packers have their top three scorers back from last season and their new role players are starting to fit in as well.
The Austin gymnastics team is already putting up similar scores early in the season that it did at the end of last season. If the team can improve at all, it could very well be finishing higher than it did when it took fifth in state last season.
The Austin dance team is also off to a strong start and the Packers are trying to get to their 11th straight state dance meet. Austin has had some big performances against bigger schools early this season and it looks to be on the right track.
In football, the Packers will enter their second year under head coach Brett Vesel in the fall. The team picked up its first win in 22 tries this past season and with an offseason of conditioning, the Packers look to be even stronger next season.
