I gave serious consideration to making Mankato East and Forest Lake co-No. 1's this week. It's getting harder and harder to deny Forest Lake's case, particularly after pitcher Avery Muellner's 14-strikeout no-no in a 5-0 rout of Woodbury.

Mankato East has looked just as impressive, highlighted by a 6-1 victory over Class 4A Maple Grove. As long as the Cougars are undefeated and have Kylinn Stangl in the circle, the two-time Class 3A champion Cougars deserve the top spot.

In a south Metro biggie, Rosemount handed previously undefeated Farmington its first loss, winning 4-2 while also becoming the first team this season to score on the Tigers. Rosemount couldn't maintain the momentum gained in that victory, mustering just four base hits in a 1-0 loss to Eagan the next day.

A potential mammoth matchup never came to pass last week thanks to Thursday's rain. Randolph was scheduled to meet United South Central which would have showcased Carter Raymond of Randolph and USC's "Sultana of Strikeouts" Mariah Anderson, two of the state's most dynamic pitchers. Two weeks ago, Anderson became just the sixth pitcher in state history to top the 1,000 strikeout mark and she leads the state in Ks this season.

Stillwater is somewhat quietly putting together an impressive campaign. The Ponies will know a little more about themselves Wednesday when they play at Forest Lake, the only team to beat them this year.

Four first-timers enter the rankings this week by virtue of undefeated records: St. Cloud Crush at No. 8, Bloomington Kennedy at No. 15, Visitation at No. 17, Jackson County Central at No. 18 and Chatfield at No. 19.

Schools are Class 4A unless noted. Records are through Monday.

1. Mankato East (3A, 5-0). Last week: No. 1

2. Forest Lake (4A, 7-0). Last week: No. 2

3. Rosemount (4A, 7-1). Last week: No. 3

4. Farmington (4A, 5-1). Last week: No. 4

5. Randolph (2A, 7-0). Last week: No. 5

6. Stillwater (4A, 8-1). Last week: No. 7

7. Champlin Park (4A, 5-1). Last week: No. 6

8. St. Cloud (4A, 6-0). Last week: NR

9. East Ridge (4A, 6-2). Last week: NR

10. St. Michael-Albertville (4A, 4-1). Last week: No. 8

11. Holy Angels (3A, 5-1). Last week: No. 10

12. Delano (3A, 4-0). Last week: No. 17

13. Rogers (4A, 4-2). Last week: No. 14

14. Rochester Mayo (4A, 6-0). Last week: No. 25

15. Bloomington Kennedy (4A, 6-0). Last week: NR

16. United South Central (1A, 7-0). Last week: No. 19

17. Visitation (2A, 7-0). Last week: NR

18. Jackson Co. Central (2A, 5-0). Last week: NR

19. Chatfield (2A, 7-0). Last week: NR

20. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (2A, 7-0). Last week: No. 21

21. St. Agnes (2A, 6-0). Last week: No. 22

22. Caledonia (2A, 6-1). Last week: No. 18

23. Cretin-Derham Hall (3A, 3-3). Last week: No. 12

24. Anoka (4A, 6-3). Last week: No. 9

25. Providence Academy (2A, 4-1). Last week: No. 24