BEMIDJI — Every other spring, Bemidji High School student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans wait with bated breath to see where the Lumberjacks land in the Minnesota State High School League’s biannual section realignment.

It’s become an undesirable tradition for one of northern Minnesota’s largest high schools, having to face the reality that its enrollment is too high to compete in its former sections against smaller schools. Since the 2021-22 school year, Bemidji has competed in the largest class in nearly every sport.

Not only did BHS mostly stay put when the sections were finalized on April 4, but enrollment has spiked beyond the point of an appeal zone — having an MSHSL enrollment total beyond 10% of the cutoff number in a respective sport.

This cycle’s realignment saw

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