South Dakota Prep Media basketball poll for Jan. 17: Wagner girls vault to top spot in Class A
Jan. 17—While there were no new entrants to the girls Class A top-five this week, there was still plenty of shake up among the best in the class.
Last week's top three — Flandreau, St. Thomas More and West Central — all fell at the Hanson Classic, allowing Wagner to move into the top spot after sitting fourth a week ago. The Red Raiders raced past West Central, 75-47, at the Corn Palace to claim the No. 1 ranking as the lone remaining unbeaten in Class A.
Despite the Hanson Classic loss, West Central moved up to second this week after defeating four ranked teams in seven days. Between Jan. 8 and Jan. 14, the Trojans took out Class B No. 4 White River, Class A No. 4 Dakota Valley, Class A No. 5 St. Thomas More and traditional out-of-state powerhouse Crofton (Neb.).
Flandreau dropped to third after coming up short against Class B No. 2 Corsica-Stickney, while St. Thomas More snuck in at No. 5 after falling to Parkston.
Elsewhere, the Mitchell boys moved up to third in Class AA after winning a pair of rivalry road games without starting point guard Macon Larson (illness), Platte-Geddes cracked the boys Class B top-five and Sioux Falls O'Gorman stole all 19 first-place votes from Sioux Falls Washington in girls Class AA following the Knights' 61-52 victory over the Warriors on Jan. 10.
Dakota Valley and St. Thomas More held firm at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in boys Class A, as De Smet and White River did the same in Class B, preserving a pair of top-two showdowns at the boys edition of the Hanson Classic on Jan. 22.
Nine teams still have perfect records, including multiple in girls Class B (Aberdeen Christian, Aberdeen Roncalli and De Smet) and boys Class A (Dakota Valley, Groton Area, St. Thomas More and Winner). Girls Class AA and boys Class B have no remaining unbeaten teams.
Jan. 17 South Dakota Prep Media basketball poll
Teams are ranked by points received and first-place votes are in parentheses.
Boys basketball
Class AA
1. Roosevelt (19) 95; 2. O'Gorman 76; 3. Mitchell 54; 4. Aberdeen Central 23; 5. Harrisburg 17.
Receiving votes: Yankton 10, Sioux Falls Washington 9, Sioux Falls Lincoln 1.
Class A
1. Dakota Valley (15) 91; 2. St. Thomas More (4) 75 ; 3. Winner 56; 4. Tea Area 24; 5. Sioux Valley 21.
Receiving votes: Flandreau 17, Groton Area 1.
Class B
1. De Smet (19) 95; 2. White River 71; 3. Lower Brule 61; 4. Aberdeen Christian 36; 5. Platte-Geddes 11.
Receiving votes: Faulkton Area 6, Timber Lake 3, Viborg-Hurley 2.
Girls basketball
Class AA
1. O'Gorman (19) 95; 2. Washington 75; 3. Brandon Valley 54; 4. RC Stevens 38; 5. RC Central 22.
Receiving votes: Watertown 1.
Class A
1. Wagner (16) 92; 2. West Central (2) 73; 3. Flandreau (1) 55; 4. Dakota Valley 25; 5. St. Thomas More 23.
Receiving votes: Lakota Tech 11, Parkston 5, Red Cloud 1.
Class B
1. Roncalli (18) 94; 2. Corsica-Stickney (1) 77; 3. Aberdeen Christian 52; 4. White River 32; 5. De Smet 28.
Receiving votes: Colman-Egan 1, Viborg-Hurley 1.
