Prep Basketball- The word of the month is “cancellation” with “postponement” coming in a close second place. The reason I mention this is because of the abnormal nature of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s (IGHSAU) rankings.
This year’s month of January saw just 12 team movements from the top 15 when combining the five classifications. Last year saw 18 such movements and that’s to be expected as we inch towards postseason basketball, but basketball is still being played so another round of rankings.
Class 1A saw no movement from the top four teams as North Linn sits atop the rankings with Newell-Fonda, Martensdale-St. Marys and Remsen St. Mary’s following in accordance. Riceville fell six spots in the rankings as the #11 Wildcats experienced their first loss of the season last Friday in a 49-39 final to Dunkerton. Montezuma also jumped up three spots to #10 on the list. Beyond that the list remained steady and no teams were dropped.
Class 2A with a similar story to Class 1A but more slight movements throughout the list. Dike-New Hartford is still on the fast track in defending their state title from last year; however, #2 Panorama and #3 Westwood tout undefeated records and might look to mix things up. Regina Catholic fell to #6 in the rankings after a loss to North Linn. North Mahaska’s loss to Montezuma caused their slip in the rankings to #12. Jesup’s 55-39 loss to Aplington-Parkersburg kicked the J-Hawks out of the top 15. North Union took the opening and took the #14 spot. #15 Treynor rounds out the list after falling three spots.
Mount Vernon held on to their top spot in Class 3A, but Solon tumbled from #2 last week to #5 this week. Going back to last Tuesday, the Spartans are 1-2 with losses to Mt. Vernon and Class 4A’s #11 Marion. Algona fell back a spot to #11 and Spirit Lake took the #10 spot. Williamsburg fell out of the top 15 with West Delaware taking the opening and moving up one spot to #14.
It was a rough week to be one of the top three teams in Class 4A. Dallas Center-Grimes, formerly ranked #1, fell out of the top three to #4 on the list after a 31-point loss to then #5 Bishop Heelan last weekend. North Polk had the dubious distinction of tumbling down the list from #3 to #5 despite riding a 7-game win streak. Clear Creek-Amana is new top team followed by Waverly-Shell Rock and Bishop Heelan, respectively. Marion and Maquoketa flipped spots with the two being ranked 11th and 10th, respectively. Lastly, Keokuk held on to their #15 ranking after decisive wins against Burlington and Washington.
For Class 5A, other than a few teams being reshuffled, the rankings remained constant. Johnston is still undefeated at 16-0 and on top of the rankings. Davenport North and Dowling Catholic are next at #2 and #3, respectively. No teams were dropped from the top 15.