Iowa School Basketball Rankings: Cedar Falls in the Lead
CEDAR RAPIDS – Identifying the number one team was an easy task. However, the rest of Class 4A remains uncertain.
Cedar Falls is currently the top boys basketball team in the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s largest division, according to the first rankings of the season released Monday. The Tigers are a perfect 7-0, coming off a significant 73-57 victory over defending state champions West Des Moines Valley in the Crossover Challenge held Saturday in Cedar Rapids. Cedar Falls also added to its impressive record with a victory over Cedar Rapids Kennedy, as well as blowout victories over Linn-Mar and Iowa City West.
Kennedy (6-2) sits in fourth place in the IHSAA’s first-ever 4A rankings, while Linn-Mar (5-2) ranks seventh. Valley is currently second in this category which has seen many variations, followed by Waukee Northwest, Kennedy and Johnston. The latter beat Johnston in an overtime match on Saturday.
The bottom five teams in Class 4A are Muscatine, Linn-Mar, Waukee, West Des Moines Dowling and Dubuque Senior, in that order.
In Class 3A, Huxley Ballard (7-0) is the leader. Decorah (6-0) ranks third, coming off a win over a 4A team (Dubuque Hempstead), which was its closest game of the season, by a margin of 16 points. Junior center Cael LaFrentz averages 33.5 points per game with a shooting success percentage of 70.4%, while grabbing 11.3 rebounds per game.
Clear Lake is second in 3A, followed by Dubuque Wahlert and Adel-DeSoto-Minburn in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Western Christian, with a 6-2 record, is ranked first in Class 2A, which is not surprising given their usual status as a national title contender. The team’s two losses were against Nebraska schools that were among the state’s best. Additionally, Western plays ten out-of-state teams this season, not belonging to any conference.
Monticello (7-0) sits seventh in the top 2A rankings, with local rival Cascade (6-0) in ninth. Monticello handed Cascade its only loss, 54-45, just before the break.
Notably, North Linn is not in the Class 1A rankings for the first time. The defending state champions just lost by 20 points last Saturday at Dunkerton, knocking them out of the standings discussion.
The nice surprise comes from Bellevue Marquette (8-0), which rose to the top of Class 1A, having also won against a 4A team, North Scott, this season. The other four teams in the top five in this class are Madrid, Fort Dodge St. Edmond, Remsen St. Mary’s and Woodbine.
Here are all of the first rankings, with the teams’ results in parentheses. The next IHSAA rankings will be released next Monday.
Takeaways
- Cedar Falls and Huxley Ballard are off to an impressive start to their seasons with perfect records.
- The competition in Class 4A appears particularly intense, with several teams close together.
- Individual performances, like those of Cael LaFrentz, highlight the importance of key players in the collective success of teams.
- This season’s surprises could well come from teams, like Bellevue Marquette, who continue to surprise with their results.
The season continues to develop, and it will be interesting to see if Cedar Falls and Huxley Ballard maintain their momentum or if other teams manage to thwart their plans. The competitive dynamic in high school basketball in Iowa promises to be exciting!
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