MONROE — With the end of the winter sports seasons right around the corner, four area basketball teams find themselves among the top-ranked schools in Wisconsin.
In boys basketball, one-loss Monticello (18-1) is third in Division 5 behind Bangor (16-0) and Sheboygan Lutheran (17-1) in the most recent Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association rankings released Feb. 11. The Ponies are sixth in the Associated Press poll, released the same day.
Darlington (17-1) is fourth in Division 4 in the coaches poll, as the top-six teams have remained unchanged, with Cuba City (17-0) voted as No. 1. In the AP rankings, the Redbirds are fifth
In Division 2, a loss to Stoughton bumped Monroe out of the coaches poll, but the Cheesemakers remained 14th in the AP rankings.
In girls basketball, unbeaten Black Hawk (17-0) are the top team in both polls in Division 5. Shullsburg is ranked eighth in the AP poll and 10th in the coaches.
Also in basketball, as the regular season nears a close, the race of the boys and girls’ WIAA 3-Point Challenge is heating up. The 3-Point Challenge is sponsored by the WIAA and takes place prior to the state championship games. The girls will compete at 9:30 a.m. March 14 at the Resch Center in Green Bay, while the boys will shoot at 9:30 a.m. March 21 at the Kohl Center in Madison. Players need over 75 3-point attempts to qualify for eligibility. The top two players in each division for both boys and girls will advance.
As of Feb. 10, Black Hawk’s Maddy Huschitt was second in the girls Division 5 race with a 43.4% rate. Teammate Bailey Butler is fourth (41.9%). Fellow Warrior Natalie Leuzinger is three attempts shy of the current qualifying mark, with a percentage at 40.3%, which would be fifth. Argyle’s McKenzee Granberg is currently third (42.3%), while Loyal’s Remi Geiger has the top rate at 46.2% on 104 attempts.
On the boys side, Darlington’s Curtis Stone is seventh in Division 4 at 41.7%.
There are six boys and one girl in the state currently shooting 50% or above from distance with a minimum of 65 attempts through Feb. 10.
Wrestling rankings
Monroe has five wrestlers ranked in the latest Wisconsin Wrestling Online rankings, posted Feb. 11. Senior Bodie Minder is the top-ranked grappler at 285 pounds in Division 2, while senior teammate Alex Witt is third at 182.
Senior Kelsey Dominguez (220), senior Patrick Rielly (160) and freshman Jack Dubach (106) are all honorable mention picks.
Darlington-Black Hawk has three senior grapplers ranked: heavyweight Leif Bredeson is second behind Minder, while Carson Lobdell (195) and Cayden Milz (170) each were named honorable mention.
Brodhead-Juda senior Brian McCullough is ranked 12th at 152 pounds, with senior teammate Jayson Starr getting an honorable mention nod at 145.
Sugar River junior Joe Quaglia is 11th at 132 pounds.
In Division 3, Pecatonica-Argyle has two wrestlers ranked: Noah Krahenbuhl (126) and Easton Schraepfer (160) are each ranked fifth.
