West Central enters this weekend’s State A softball tournament with the best resume – on paper, at least – but the Trojans aren’t resting on past success.

The Trojans, having appeared in the last two state title games, are venerable veterans of the tournament by now. West Central won the inaugural state title two seasons ago before settling for the runner-up spot last year and enters this year’s tournament as the top seed.

As such, the Trojans know they’ll be a target in every game they play this weekend.

“That fuels us,” said West Central coach Heather Harden. “We know we have to come in here and work hard, pen to paper, ball to glove.”

Despite their relative tournament experience, the Trojans boast just two seniors on this year’s squad in outfielders Kadence Lupkes and Izzi Parsons. Harden said the team will rely on those two captains to steady the ship with the younger players.

“We have some younger ones that this is their first state tournament,” she said. “We have to lean on those seniors.”

Harden said despite her squad’s top billing in the tournament, the field at large is full of teams with legitimate abilities to make a run at the title. Dell Rapids is back in the hunt after finishing third twice, while Dakota Valley, Madison and Elk Point-Jefferson are also making a third appearance. Tri-Valley is back after missing last year’s tournament, while Vermillion and Sioux Valley are first-time visitors to the state tournament.

“Everybody’s a contender,” Harden said, noting the speed and versatility of the rest of the teams. “It’s a stacked field.”

First up for the Trojans is a familiar foe in Vermillion, and not just because the two teams met earlier in the season, a 14-4 win for West Central. Vermillion’s assistant coach is none other than Kaylee Olson, who played on WC’s state championship game two seasons ago.

“She’s familiar with us and with what we do,” Harden said.

But every state title run starts with a first-round win, and Harden said the key is to keep her squad focused on the task at hand.

“Good butterflies are good,” Harden said. “Bad butterflies take us off the rails a bit.”

The Class A tournament begins this morning with Vermillion (7-9) vs. West Central (18-3) at 10 a.m., followed by Sioux Valley (16-5) vs. Dell Rapids (11-3) at noon, Elk Point-Jefferson (8-8) vs. Tri-Valley (12-2) at 2 p.m., and Madison (12-6) vs. Dakota Valley (15-5) at 4 p.m. All games will take place at the Players South Complex.