Western Christian the new No. 1 in Class 2A

CEDAR RAPIDS - We've got a new number one in Class 2A.

Western Christian ascends to the top spot in this week's Gazette boys' basketball poll. The Wolfpack replace Iowa City Regina, which lost for the first time this season this past Saturday night at Monticello.

The Panthers (14-2) beat Regina despite missing leading scorer Garrett Rieniets, who is serving a school-imposed seven-game suspension. Monticello lost the previous night to Northeast Goose Lake and remains eighth in 2A.

Regina dropped to sixth, also behind New Hampton, IKM-Manning, Aplington-Parkersburg and Cascade.

There was a shakeup in the Class 4A and 3A polls as well. Iowa City West (11-0) remains a solid top choice in 4A, though the Trojans were tied in the final two minutes with No. 8 Linn-Mar this past Friday night.

Pleasant Valley (11-0) knocked off North Scott in a highly anticipated game and jumped from fourth to second. West Des Moines Dowling lost to 3A Cedar Rapids Xavier and went from second to fourth.

Des Moines Hoover (11-0) stays at No. 3. Linn-Mar went from seventh to eighth after two tough losses, the five-pointer to West and a one-pointer the following night at seventh-ranked Ankeny Centennial.

Waverly-Shell Rock (12-0) is still the top-ranked team in 3A, though Spirit Lake jumped into the second spot after a win last week over No. 5 LeMars. Williamsburg also jumped two spots to fourth.

The previous No. 2 team, MOC/Floyd Valley, fell to No. 6 after two losses last week. Dubuque Wahlert remains third despite just a 6-5 record, with all five losses coming to good 4A teams, four of them by four points or less.

Class 1A had little movement, with Gladbrook-Reinbeck (11-0) remaining first, LeMars Gehlen (11-0) second and Danville (11-0) third. Meskwawki Settement School (10-0) moved up a spot to ninth, and Belle Plaine (11-0) entered the 1A poll for the first time at No. 10.

Here are all the rankings, with previous week's rating in parentheses:

____________

CLASS 4A

1. Iowa City West 11-0 (1)

2. Pleasant Valley 11-0 (4)

3. Des Moines Hoover 11-0 (3)

4. West Des Moines Dowling 10-1 (2)

5. North Scott 8-3 (5)

6. Waukee 9-3 (6)

7. Ankeny Centennial 11-1 (8)

8. Linn-Mar 8-3 (7)

9. Dubuque Hempstead 8-1 (NR)

10. West Des Moines Valley 9-3 (10)

____________

CLASS 3A

1. Waverly-Shell Rock 12-0 (1)

2. Spirit Lake 10-1 (5)

3. Dubuque Wahlert 6-5 (3)

4. Williamsburg 10-1 (6)

5. LeMars 9-2 (4)

6. MOC/Floyd Valley 10-2 (2)

7. Gilbert 10-1 (8)

8. Carroll 10-2 (9)

9. Dallas Center-Grimes 10-2 (NR)

10. Fort Madison 9-2 (NR)

____________

CLASS 2A

1. Western Christian 10-1 (3)

2. New Hampton 12-1 (3)

3. IKM-Manning 11-0 (5)

4. Aplington-Parkersburg 13-0 (6)

5. Cascade 12-1 (7)

6. Iowa City Regina 10-1 (1)

7. Treynor 9-2 (4)

8. Monticello 14-2 (8)

9. West Fork 9-2 (10)

10. Sheldon 10-2 (NR)

____________

CLASS 1A

1. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 11-0 (1)

2. LeMars Gehlen 11-0 (2)

3. Danville 11-0 (3)

4. Central Lyon 10-2 (4)

5. Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto 12-1 (5)

6. West Hancock 11-1 (7)

7. Ar-We-Va 10-0 (8)

8. Colo-NESCO 12-0 (9)

9. Meskwawki Settlement School 10-0 (10)

10. Belle Plaine 11-0 (NR)

____________

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