Prep Girls’ Basketball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their tenth rankings of the season with a local team falling out of the top 15, but no top teams falling from their spot.

Class 1A is still ran by Algona Bishop Garrigan with Newell-Fonda and North Linn following in the 2^nd and 3^rd spots, respectively. West Fork jumped up the rankings from 8^th to 6^th as they are still undefeated on the season. Winfield-Mt. Union keeps inching their way up the rankings as they are now ranked 8^th after the Wolves improved to 19-0 on the season. Central Elkader fell to 9^th from 7^th after losing to Waukon 57-45 and just recently the Warriors fell to Turkey Valley in a one point thriller, 41-40. Exira-EHK and Martensdale-St. Marys enter the rankings at 14^th and 15^th, respectively, as Burlington Notre Dame tumble out of the rankings from their 11^th position after losing to Mediapolis 53-44 and Fort Madison 55-38. Earlham also fell out of the top 15.

The top six teams remained constant in Class 2A with Dike-New Hartford still on top of the rankings at 17-0. Underwood dropped their game to Glenwood 62-53 after being down 43 to 18 at the end of the first half; the Eagles are now ranked 9^th after being ranked 7^th. Mediapolis jumped up the rankings from 15^th to 12^th after the Bulldogs had a strong week beating a ranked Nikes team and a Class 4A team in Mt. Pleasant. No teams dropped out of the top 15 this week.

The top 10 remained the same for Class 3A with Estherville Lincoln Central, Solon, and Benton Community holding on to the top three spots. Cherokee, originally ranked 11^th, and Harlan, ranked 15^th last week, dropped out of the top 15. The Braves suffered two losses last week, one was an overtime defeat at the hands of Spirit Lake 60-59 and the other was a controlled win by Estherville Lincoln Central 51-34. Clear Lake jumps into the rankings at 13^th and Atlantic takes over the 15^th spot.

Dalla Center-Grimes is still the top team in Class 4A with a 15-3 record. Xavier continues to slide in the rankings from 5^th to 6^th. Pella jumped Carlisle from 9^th to 8^th, but the Dutch did fall to Des Moines North, who is ranked 15^th in Class 5A, 49-46 on Monday. Waverly-Shell Rock dropped from their 10^th spot out of the rankings after their loss to Mason City 50-39 on Monday. Mason City rounds out the top 15 after their win over the Hawks.

Class 5A kept the top seven the same with Pleasant Valley sitting on top of the rankings touting an undefeated 18-0 record. Sioux City East dropped from 10^th to 14^th in the rankings after losing to Sergeant Bluff-Luton 53-43 on Monday. No teams were dropped from the rankings.

High School Basketball

The Mt. Pleasant boys team extended their win streak to 10 games after defeating Regina Catholic 69-58 last night. The Regals had a strong start to the game leading 14-11 after the first quarter, but Aaiden Ashton exploded for 13 points in the second quarter to give the Panthers the lead 32-24 heading into halftime. Payton Hagans took over in the second half finishing the night with the team lead in points with 29 with Ashton cashing in with 23 points. Coach Rawson talked about the stellar play of his two guards. The boys’ team will be back in action tomorrow at home against Burlington with the conference championship hanging in the balance.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team defeated Fairfield at home last night 49-25 after a slow start to the contest. The Panthers will travel to play Burlington on Friday at 7:30 pm.

Holy Trinity Catholic crashed Central Lee’s senior night by winning both contests. The girls won a nail-biter 60-58, while the boys dominated winning 60-34. That will conclude the regular season for Holy Trinity Catholic. The Central Lee girls’ team will be competing in a conference shootout Friday, February 3th and the boys’ will have their own shootout on Saturday, February 4th.

Burlington Notre Dame swept the night against New London with the girls’ team winning 74-32. Anna Engberg finished with 17 points for the Nikes and Sophie Malott and Mylee Miller tied for the team lead in points with 8. The boys’ team handled business with the Nikes coming out on top 79-57. That will conclude the girls’ regular season and the boys’ team will face off against Davis County tomorrow at 7 pm.

The Danville Bears fell in both games tonight against West Burlington. The West Burlington girls’ team cruised to an 81-58 final thanks to Falcons scoring 50 points in the second and third quarter combined. The Danville boys’ team suffered a similar fate as West Burlington improved to 18-0 on the season winning 53-38. The girls’ team will travel to compete in their conference shootout game Friday and the boys’ will have theirs on Saturday.

The WACO girls’ team defeated Lone Tree 60-45 as Grace Coble and Ellah Kissell each scored 19 points in the contest. The boys’ team crushed Lone Tree to remain undefeated on the season as Hunter Hughes put up 15 points in the 66-28 win. WACO will travel to take on Louisa-Muscatine tomorrow with the girls going at 6 pm followed by the boys.

The Winfield-Mt. Union Wolves celebrated their senior night in style as both teams came out with dominating wins. The girls’ team moved to 19-0 on the season after defeating Highland 61-28. The boys’ team was led by Jake Edwards’s and Cam Buffington’s 16 point performance. The boys’ team will take on Cedar Valley Christian tomorrow at home at 7 pm.

High School Wrestling

The inaugural girls’ sanctioned wrestling State Tournament will take place tomorrow and Friday. Stay tuned to KILJ tomorrow morning for interviews with Ella McNamee, Rylee Rice, Bralyyn Wagler, and Grace Fort.

The next competition for the Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will be at the Class 2A District 9 postseason meet. To make it to state, wrestlers in Class 1A or 2A must finish in first or second-place and third-place finishers in Class 3A District Tournaments will also qualify.

Burlington Notre Dame competed in the Regional Duals yesterday in the attempt to qualify for state. The Nikes defeated Knoxville in the first round 39-38 to tangle with Williamsburg. Unfortunately, the Nikes came up one point short of a state appearance losing to Williamsburg 41-40. Carter West, Kaell Cook, C.J. DAvis, Kaiden Dietzenbach, Blake Wilson, Isaiah Fenton, and CJ Walrath all went 2-0 on the night.

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will travel to face off against West Burlington tomorrow.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The women’s basketball team will be back in action February 3rd at the Crowley’s Ridge Classic. The Tigers are currently 5-0 in conference play.

The 23rd-ranked men’s team improved their win streak to 20 games and 21-1 on the season and they will be tested against #20 Florida College in a CAC Classic on February 3rd.

The men’s wrestling team fell to William Penn University in a close dual 31-22. Quinten Aney, Lane Scorpil, and Isaac Boucher all pinned their opponents, while Carson Coleman and Brendan Ferenchik each won by decision. The Tigers will be in another dual tomorrow against Graceland University on the road.

The women’s wrestling team will be competing in the Grand View Open on February 4th.

The Tigers next indoor meet will be today, February 1st, at the Grand View Field Meet, which will have only throwers and jumpers compete.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams earned USTFCCA honors for their cumulative GPAs with Lily Garnsey being named an All-Academic athlete for having a cumulative GPA over 3.25 and being a national qualifier.

This Day in Sports History

1950 – Green Bay Packers founder, player and coach Curly Lambeau resigns after 31 seasons and 6 NFL titles to his credit.

1967 – The 10-team American Basketball Association (ABA) with George Mikan as Commissioner is formed and lasts 9 years; its three-point shot remains a feature of the game.

1995 – Utah Jazz guard John Stockton passes Magic Johnson’s all-time NBA assists mark of 9,221, in a 129-98 win over the Denver Nuggets at the Delta Centre in Salt Lake City.