Prep Basketball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released their seventh basketball rankings of the 2024-25 season and a local team has reemerged into the top 15. It was also not a good week to be ranked 9^th as three of the five classes saw downward movement from the slot on an overall quiet week.

Class 5A

Johnston is still clinging on to an undefeated record and the top spot, followed by Dowling Catholic and Waukee Northwest, respectively. In fact, only one team caused any source of movement in the rankings.

Iowa City West was formerly ranked #9, but a loss to #5 Prairie in a 65-57 final pushed the Trojans down to #11 this week. Iowa City Liberty’s four-game win streak caused the Lightning to jump Cedar Falls to the #12 spot.

No teams were ejected from the rankings.

Class 4A

To breeze past the usual, Bishop Heelan is the #1 team for Class 4A as the top seven remained unchanged. The 8-10 spots were jumbled with Xavier moving two spots up to #8 as Waverly-Shell Rock and Pella were shifted two spots down to #9 and #10, respectively.

The reason the Go Hawks were slotted a spot lower was a 67-59 loss to Keokuk. The win catapulted the Chiefs back into the top 15  at #13 for the first time since December 5^th in the second rankings of the season.

The Chiefs are touting an 11-game win streak with eight of the games being won by double digits. Last year’s SEC Player of the Year, Kendra Boatman, has really stepped up her play, averaging 20.3 points per game to go along with five steals and five assists per game.

Gilbert lost two of their past three games to #2 North Polk and #15 Carroll caused their removal from the top 15.

Class 3A

Mt. Vernon and Estherville Lincoln Central kept their top two spots, respectively, but undefeated Forest City jumped Wahlert Catholic after the Golden Eagles fell to Xavier in their most recent matchup.

Solon’s 57-54 loss to West Delaware saw the Spartans tossed from the top 15 and replaced by Center Point-Urbana at the #15 slot.

Class 2A

Not a single team was moved from their spot last week as Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s 15-0 record reigns over everyone else. Other undefeated teams include: #4 Hinton, #7 Denver, and #9 Maquoketa Valley.

Class 1A

The curse of the #9 slot caused a juggling of the middle three slots. #8 Springville handed East Buchanan a 61-54 loss on Tuesday night, causing the Buccaneers to fall from #9 to #10 in the rankings. Gladbrook-Reinbeck climbed two spots to the open #9 slot, while Lynnville-Sully took a step back to #11.

St. Albert kept their stranglehold on the crown, while North Linn and Newell-Fonda kept their spots in the top three, respectively. No teams were dropped from the top 15.

High School Basketball

Mediapolis will compete against Louisa-Muscatine tonight with the road doubleheader tipping-off at 6 pm.

WACO will play tonight at home against Sigourney with the girls starting the night at 6 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant will celebrate their senior night tomorrow, January 24th, against Fort Madison with game time at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. 

West Burlington will face off against Central Lee on the road tomorrow with the girls’ team leading off the night at 6 pm. 

Danville will take on Van Buren County tomorrow at home with game one at 6 pm. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will host Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow with the first game starting at 6 pm. 

Wapello will tangle with Highland tomorrow with the girls getting the night started at 6 pm. 

Fairfield will host Washington tomorrow with the night starting at 6 pm. 

Columbus will take on Winfield-Mt. Union on the road tomorrow with the doubleheader starting at 6 pm. 

New London will travel to Mediapolis tomorrow with the boys’ team following the girls game at 7:30 pm. 

High School Wrestling

Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield tonight.

The Mediapolis boys’ team will host New London and Highland for a triangular tonight. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will travel to Pekin tonight for a triangular. 

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will host Wapello tonight to celebrate their senior night. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team and the Van Buren County boys’ team will travel to Louisa-Muscatine on Saturday, January 25th, for an Invite.  

The WACO boys’ team will travel to Highland for a double dual on January 30th.

Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year

 IAwrestle and Iowa Corn in coordination with the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) has released the top 15 wrestlers for the Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year Awards and southeast Iowa has three competitors in the running.

In Class 1A, WACO’s Louden Huisenga is a strong contender for the award at the 190-pound weight class. He has compiled a 25-0 record against fellow 190-pound contenders.

Over in Class 2A, Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame is back in the top 15 after being placed on the list last year. The Nike is continuing his reign of terror on the area in the 138-pound weight class with a perfect 27-0 record, so far through his senior campaign.

Fairfield’s Cael McCabe is also up for the award in Class 2A as the junior boasts a 22-2 record in the 113-pound weight class. McCabe has won the Bob Murphy and Bill Van Horn Invitationals this season.

Fans can vote once per list at Facebook.com/IAwrestle for their favorite wrestler in each category until February 9th, when the list will be narrowed down to the top 7. The next round of voting, from February 10th to February 23rd, will determine the top 3 finalists, with the winner announced at the banquet on February 27th at the Fareway Conference Center in Boone, Iowa, on February 27th at 11:30AM.

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will take on Fairfield today at home. 

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Mt. Pleasant was our school of focus for last night’s episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook with our special guest being Ramzy Davis, a junior wrestler for the Panthers. Davis, who’s looking to punch his ticket to the state tournament this year, talked about what the sport of wrestling has taught him throughout the years,

“Just being a hard worker. [I] Never, never want to be that guy who quits in the room, you know? It gets pretty hard sometimes when you just, you’re gassed and you want to go home and take a shower and go to bed, but you just got to keep grinding it out in practice. Finish hard. Always giving 100%. You know, it’s definitely a sport that teaches a great work ethic, and I think that’ll benefit me in the future a lot.”

If you missed last night’s episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook, then follow this link to listen to the episode: Mt. Pleasant Episode

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team crushed Marshalltown Community College last night 80-53. The Blackhawks will compete against Moberly Area Community College on Saturday, January 25th, with tip-off at 7 pm.

College Basketball

The #3 Iowa State men’s team will travel to Arizona State on Saturday, January 25th, at 1 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will host Penn State tomorrow, January 24th, at 8 pm. 

The Iowa women’s team snapped their five-game losing streak last night in a dominant 85-61 win over Washington. Lucy Olsen was lights out from beyond the arc, going 4-4 to end the night with 20 points. The Hawkeyes will venture back home to face off against Northwestern on Tuesday, January 28th, at 7 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team handled business against BYU, defeating the Cougars 82-59 last night. Audi Crooks cashed in for 24 points, while Addy Brown added 22 points to the winning effort. The Cyclones will take on UCF at home on Saturday at 4 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1950 – The Associated Press picks “Miracle Braves” of 1914 as the greatest sports upset. 

1984 – The Buffalo Sabres become the first team in NHL history to win 10 straight road games with a 5-3 victory at Boston. 

2015 – Golden State guard Klay Thompson scores the most points in a quarter (37) and most three-pointers in a quarter (9) in a Warriors’s 126-101 win over the Sacramento Kings.