New No. 1s in pair of classes in Gazette boys' hoops poll

CEDAR RAPIDS — You've got a pair of new No. 1s in the latest Gazette boys' basketball poll.

Pleasant Valley has ascended to the top spot in Class 4A, even though Iowa City West (the previous top-ranked team) didn't lose last week. The Trojans are without forward Tanner Lohaus, a Northern Iowa signee, who is recovering from a dislocated ankle and torn ligaments.

That's enough to put PV (10-0) ahead of the Trojans (7-2). West has a tough week, with a game Tuesday night at 3A top-ranked Dubuque Wahlert and Friday night at home against 4A seventh-ranked Linn-Mar and could go right back to No. 1 with a pair of wins.

West, which has lost only to teams from Minnesota, drops to No. 2, with West Des Moines Valley (10-0) third, Des Moines Hoover fourth and West Des Moines Dowling fifth. The bottom five are Ankeny, Linn-Mar (6-2), Council Bluffs Lincoln, Ames and North Scott.

Wahlert lost last week to a good 4A Cedar Falls team but bounced back with a solid road win at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Golden Eagles are 8-2.

Chariton (9-0) and Algona (9-0) are the lone unbeatens in the class and come in right behind Wahlert. Pella is fourth, Cedar Rapids Xavier fifth and Waverly-Shell Rock eighth.

Western Christian (8-1) lost two weeks ago to Sioux Falls (S.D.) O'Gorman and falls to second in Class 2A, with defending state champ Treynor (9-0) moving up to the top spot. Northeast Goose Lake is third, Dike-New Hartford fourth and Pocahontas Area fifth.

Northeast moved up from fifth after a very impressive 64-40 victory last week over Cascade. The Cougars dropped from fourth to seventh. Western Dubuque county rival Dyersville Beckman entered the rankings at 10th.

West Hancock (11-0) is still your top-ranked team in Class 1A. Boyden-Hull is second, Gladbrook-Reinbeck third, IKM-Manning fourth and Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire fifth.

Jesup comes in seventh and Meskwaki Settlement School eighth.

Below are the entire rankings, with the pre-holiday rankings in parentheses.

CLASS 4A

1. Pleasant Valley 10-0 (2)

2. Iowa City West 7-2 (1)

3. West Des Moines Valley 10-0 (3)

4. Des Moines Hoover 8-1 (5)

5. West Des Moines Dowling 7-1 (6)

6. Ankeny 6-1 (4)

7. Linn-Mar 6-2 (9)

8. Council Bluffs Lincoln 9-1 (7)

9. Ames 7-2 (NR)

10. North Scott 9-2 (NR)

CLASS 3A

1. Dubuque Wahlert 8-2 (1)

2. Chariton 9-0 (2)

3. Algona 9-0 (3)

4. Pella 8-1 (4)

5. Cedar Rapids Xavier 7-1 (5)

6. Harlan 8-1 (7)

7. Atlantic 9-1 (6)

8. Waverly-Shell Rock 9-2 (10)

9. Spirit Lake 9-2 (NR)

10. Sioux City Heelan 7-3 (8)

CLASS 2A

1. Treynor 9-0 (2)

2. Western Christian 8-1 (1)

3. Northeast Goose Lake 11-0 (5)

4. Dike-New Hartford 11-0 (3)

5. Pocahontas Area 9-1 (6)

6. Aplington-Parkersburg 7-1 (8)

7. Cascade 8-1 (4)

8. Pella Christian 6-2 (7)

9. Ridge View 9-0 (NR)

10. Dyersville Beckman 8-2 (NR)

CLASS 1A

1. West Hancock 11-0 (1)

2. Boyden-Hull 7-1 (2)

3. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 7-1 (3)

4. IKM-Manning 10-1 (3)

5. Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire 7-0 (6)

6. Colo-NESCO 8-1 (6)

7. Jesup 9-1 (9)

8. Meskwaki Settlement School 10-1 (5)

9. West Fork 10-0 (9)

10. Danville 11-0 (NR)

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com