KILJ — District play is a little over two weeks away yet, but the Iowa High School Athletic Association has wasted no time announcing this year’s assignments — not matchups or dates — for the upcoming tournament trail.
In the area, the 1A assignment look packed full of incredible matchups.
District 9 and District 10 are where the majority of area programs have been slotted.
In District 9, No. 10 Danville and Winfield-Mount Union will continue to jockey for the No. 1 seed. Danville is 13-1 and under the direction of the Soukup brothers, have been electric.
They get a box office matchup on Friday with 11-1 New London — a game that will undoubtedly go a long way in determining seeding in February.
Winfield-Mount Union appears to be the other strong competitor in District 9.
The Wolves, led by former all-stater Klay Edwards, are 14-1 on the year and led by two of the best players in the area in Abram Edwards and Cam Buffington.
Both players are averaging double-doubles.
Also in District 9 are Columbus, Highland, Holy Trinity, Lone Tree, Wapello, Notre Dame and Hillcrest Academy.
In District 10, New London and WACO are the two strongest teams on paper.
New London, led by Blaise Porter and Kade Benjamin, dropped their first game of the season on Saturday to WACO, potentially pushing the Tigers down the seed line.
Again, they do get a matchup with Danville on Friday night — which with a win could propel them back up into the top seed discussion.
WACO has backed up a remarkable football season with a really good basketball season, as well. The Warriors are athletic, long and rangy and are 12-3 heading into a scrap tonight with Van Buren County.
Other clubs in District 10 include BGM, Tri-County, Sigourney, Pekin, Keota, English Valleys, Iowa Valley and Montezuma.
In Class 2A, District 12, Mediapolis will try to make noise. The Bulldogs are 9-3 on the year and play a defensive minded game that will keep them in any game. Unfortunately in District 12, they’ll need to knock off No. 3 Mid-Prairie, who are 14-0 on the year.
Central Lee, West Burlington and Van Buren County are all regional teams that also will compete in 2A-12.
District play is set to begin on February 11th.