Mid-Prairie opens No. 1 in 3A

Mid-Prairie is the top-ranked softball team in Class 3A in the

Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union preseason rankings, released Wednesday.The Golden Hawks were 31-13 last season and finished sixth in the 3A state tournament. They return seven starters from that team, including pitcher Olivia Lugar.Other top-ranked teams are Pleasant Valley (5A), Dallas Center-Grimes (4A), Treynor (2A) and Don Bosco (1A).Treynor is the only defending champion to start 2013 at No. 1. Dallas Center-Grimes was a runner-up while Pleasant Valley and Don Bosco were third-place teams.Dubuque Senior is the only Mississippi Valley Conference team in the 5A rankings. The Rams open at No. 8.Washington (Iowa), which finished fourth last year in 4A last year, is the highest-ranked area team in that class at No. 5. West Delaware, Cedar Rapids Xavier and Solon are seventh, eighth and ninth; Clear Creek Amana is 11th.Monticello and Center Point-Urbana are seventh and ninth in 3A; Jesup and Alburnett are fifth and ninth in 2A.Lisbon opens at No. 2 in 1A. Sigourney is 13th.