Wheeler’s boys and Westlake’s girls are the No. 1 teams in Class AAAAAA in The Atlanta-Journal Constitution’s first rankings since preseason.
Wheeler (13-1) defeated consensus 2014 national champion Montverde Academy of Florida 72-65 last month to win the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. That ended Montverde’s 45-game winning streak and launched Wheeler into the top 10 of several national rankings.
Wheeler lost a game Dec. 29 to West Linn, Ore., 70-62, in Portland, but remains Georgia’s most high-profile team nationally with a cast of Division I recruits that includes Jaylen Brown, rated the No. 2 college prospect in the country.
Tift County (15-0), which defeated Wheeler in the AAAAAA final last season, is ranked No. 2.
In the boys’ AAAAA rankings, six-time state champion Miller Grove has lost only to No. 1 Jonesboro of AAAA and two out-of-state teams. Jonesboro, the defending AAAA champion, has lost only to Montverde.
In AAA, Laney (12-1) is the defending champion and No. 1 team. Laney has beaten defending champion Morgan County in AAA and top-10 AAAAAA teams Pebblebrook and Norcross .Laney’s loss wa to No. 1 St. Francis of Class A in the season opener.
St. Francis (13-3) is the defending Class A private champion. St. Francis’ losses are to Miller Grove and two out-of-state teams. St. Francis, led by Florida State signee Malik Beasley, is ranked No. 20 nationally by MaxPreps.
AA is the only class without a clear-cut No. 1 boys team. Thomasville (10-2), a first-round state-playoff loser last year, has beaten No. 6 Bainbridge of AAAA and lost twice to Tift County. Pace Academy (10-2), which didn’t make the playoffs in Class A last year, has a blow-out victory over defending champion Greater Atlanta Christian but lost last week to unranked North Atlanta.
In the girls rankings, Westlake is 12-0 and hangs its hat on a victory AAAAA No. 1 team Stephenson (13-2). Defending AAAAAA champion McEachern (10-2) lost to Osborne (12-1) 74-70 on Saturday. McEachern was heavily favored to defend its title until Caliya Robinson (signed with Georgia) was lost to a season-ending knee injury last month.
Stephenson (13-2) has lost only to Westlake and an out-of-state team and got the No. 1 spot over unbeaten Brunswick.
In AAAA, St. Pius is unbeaten and led by the state’s top recruit, Asia Durr. Kendrick, the No. 1 team in AAA, has won 45 straight games. The AA No. 1 team is unbeaten Holy Innocents’, which won a tournament last week in Charleston, S.C.
The No. 1 team in A is St. Francis, followed by 2014 private-school champion Southwest Atlanta Christian. The two play each other on Saturday.
BOYS
Class AAAAAA
1. Wheeler (13-1)
2. Tift County (15-0)
3. Pebblebrook (11-2)
4. Shiloh (10-0)
5. Norcross (11-3)
6. Douglas County (11-3)
7. Tucker (14-2)
8. Collins Hill (12-2)
9. Pope (13-1)
10. Newton (13-1)
Class AAAAA
1. Miller Grove (12-3)
2. McIntosh (13-0)
3. Gainesville (11-1)
4. M.L. King (11-3)
5. Allatoona (11-2)
6. Brunswick (12-2)
7. Tri-Cities (11-3)
8. Northside-Columbus (8-2)
9. Richmond Hill (11-3)
10. Drew (10-2)
Class AAAAA
1. Jonesboro (13-1)
2. Johnson-Gainesville (12-0)
3. Lithonia (10-1)
4. Columbia (11-4)
5. St. Pius (11-3)
6. Bainbridge (11-2)
7. Carrollton (8-3)
8. Americus-Sumter (12-3)
9. Stone Mountain (12-3)
10. Liberty County (9-3)
Class AAA
1. Laney (12-1)
2. Jenkins (9-3)
3. Butler (14-1)
4. Cedar Grove (9-2)
5. Morgan County (10-5)
6. Johnson-Savannah (12-2)
7. Savannah (9-5)
8. North Clayton (10-4)
9. Rutland (12-1)
10. Blessed Trinity (11-2)
Class AA
1. Thomasville (10-2)
2. Pace Acdemy (10-2)
3. Greater Atlanta Christian (7-5)
4. Seminole County (10-2)
5. Holy Innocents’ (12-2)
6. Vidalia (11-1)
7. Model (12-1)
8. Harlem (12-1)
9. Bryan County (11-2)
10. Crawford County (9-3)
Class A
1. St. Francis (13-3)
2. Greenforest Christian (11-1)
3. Athens Christian (11-0)
4. Whitefield Academy (8-6)
5. Treutlen (10-0)
6. Hancock Central (9-0)
7. Landmark Christian (11-2)
8. Turner County (10-2)
9. North Cobb Christian (7-7)
10. Portal (9-3)
GIRLS
Class AAAAAA
1. Westlake (12-0)
2. Osborne (12-1)
3. McEachern (10-2)
4. Archer (11-2)
5. South Forsyth (12-2)
6. North Forsyth (14-1)
7. Parkview (8-3)
8. Norcross (12-2)
9. Woodstock (13-0)
10. Mountain View (10-3)
Class AAAAA
1. Stephenson (13-2)
2. Brunswick (14-0)
3. Greenbrier (14-1)
4. Sequoyah (13-2)
5. Forest Park (11-3)
6. South Effingham (12-2)
7. Southwest DeKalb (11-5)
8. Effingham County (12-4)
9. Jones County (13-2)
10. Cross Creek (13-2)
Class AAAA
1. St. Pius (12-1)
2. Veterans (13-0)
3. Buford (11-3)
4. Jonesboro (16-1)
5. Redan (9-2)
6. Americus-Sumter (13-1)
7. Mary Persons (12-0)
8. Griffin (13-1)
9. Marist (8-1)
10. Bainbridge (10-3)
Class AAA
1. Kendrick (15-0)
2. Dawson County (17-0)
3. Laney (11-2)
4. Decatur (14-1)
5. Morgan County (7-3)
6. South Atlanta (13-0)
7. Dodge County (9-1)
8. Peach County (11-1)
9. Central-Carrollton (12-0)
10. Calhoun (10-3)
Class AA
1. Holy Innocents' (14-0)
2. Pelham (11-1)
3. Wesleyan (10-4)
4. Darlington (12-2)
5. Vidalia (7-1)
6. Putnam County (12-3)
7. Model (13-2)
8. Lovett (9-4)
9. Early County (7-2)
10. Dade County (12-3)
Class A
1. St. Francis (10-1)
2. Southwest Atlanta Christian (9-1)
3. Taylor County (13-0)
4. Turner County (11-1)
5. Savannah Country Day (10-1)
6. Mitchell County (8-0)
7. Tattnall Square (11-2)
8. Mount Pisgah Christian (7-1)
9. Calvary Day (9-1)
10. Stratford Academy (10-3)
Rankings and won-lost records are based on scores reported to the GHSA through MaxPreps, or by other media, prior to deadline.
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