The Wildwood girls basketball team remains on top of the all-classification regional rankings heading into the FHSAA state playoffs.
The Wildcats, the No. 1 team in the Rural classification, remained unbeaten following a dominating performance at last week’s District 7 tournament.
Wildwood (21-0) defeated Chiefland, 79-22, in the semifinals and pounded previous No. 2 Williston, 68-40, in the title game.
They received seven of the 10 first-place votes to remain No. 1 in The Prep Zone Power Poll, which ranks the top 20 basketball teams across 26 counties in Florida.
The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in Rural-Region 4 and will host No. 4 seed Marathon on Thursday night in the regional semifinals.
Bolles (Jacksonville) moved up two spots to No. 2.
The Bulldogs (21-5), who received one first-place vote, won the 3A-District 4 title with a 59-28 win against previous No. 16 Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) in the championship game. The Lady ‘Dogs, who have won 11 in a row, also defeated Fernandina Beach, 91-32, in the district semifinals.
They are the top seed in 3A-Region 1 and will host No. 8 seed Episcopal (Jacksonville) in the regional quarterfinals.
Bolles is one of three Duval County schools in the top five, along with No. 3 Providence (Jacksonville) and No. 4 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville).
Providence, which is ranked third, received the other two first-place votes after winning the 2A-District 3 title. They defeated previous No. 10 San Jose Prep (Jacksonville), 60-39, in the district title game for their seventh straight win.
The Stallions (20-6) are the top seed in 2A-Region 1 and will host No. 8 seed Oak Hall (Gainesville) in the regional quarterfinals.
Bishop Kenny (23-4) has also won seven in a row since a 40-36 loss against No. 2 Bolles. The 4A-District 4 Champions defeated Menendez (St. Augustine), 59-17, to win the title.
They are the No. 1 seed in 4A-Region 1 and will host No. 8 seed Paxon (Jacksonville) in the regional quarterfinals.
New Smyrna Beach (22-5) rounds out the top five at No. 5.
The 5A-District 7 champion Barracudas, winners of 10 in a row, are the top seed in 5A-Region 2 and will host No. 8 seed Jones (Orlando) in the regional quarterfinals.
Williston, which is ranked second in the Rural classification, tumbled four spots to No. 6 following the loss at top-ranked Wildwood.
The Red Devils (18-3) defeated previous No. 12 Hawthorne, 57-44, in the Rural-District 7 semifinals last Thursday and they will face the two-time defending state champion Hornets (12-4) again in tonight’s regional semifinals.
Hawthorne, which dropped six spots to No. 18, and Williston are two of four teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area who are ranked in the top 20, along with No. 12 Newberry and No. 13 Gainesville High.
The 12th-ranked Panthers (16-6) won the 3A-District 3 championship with a 53-47 win at home against Bradford (Starke). It was their first district title since 2017.
GHS (13-8) won the 5A-District 2 title with a 64-41 win against Lincoln (Tallahassee) in the district championship game and a 67-23 victory against Leon (Tallahassee) in the district semifinals.
Area teams Fort White (15-7), the Rural-District 6 champions, 3A-District 3 Runner-up Bradford (13-8), and Eastside (12-10), which won the 4A-District 5 title, are receiving votes.
Rounding out the top 10 are No. 7 The Villages, No. 8 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine), No. 9 Ribault (Jacksonville) and 10th-ranked Creekside (St. Johns).
Class 5A-District 5 champion Leesburg (12-9) jumped into the rankings at No. 16.
This is the last poll until after the state semifinal and championship games in late February and early March.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2024-25 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #5
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 2/8, & total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Wildwood (Rural) (7) (21-0) – 195
2. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (1) (21-5) – 183
3. Providence (Jacksonville) (2A) (2) (20-6) – 180
4. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (23-4) – 166
5. New Smyrna Beach (5A) (22-5) – 165
6. Williston (Rural) (18-3) – 155
7. The Villages (3A) (22-5) – 136
8. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (17-7) – 126
9. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-8) – 119
10. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (16-7) – 99
11. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (2A) (17-9) – 96
12. Newberry (3A) (16-6) – 71
13. Gainesville (5A) (13-8) – 65
14. San Jose Prep (Jacksonville) (2A) (13-9) – 59
15. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (14-13) – 48
16. Leesburg (5A) (12-9) – 35
17. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (5A) (19-5) – 34
18. Hawthorne (Rural) (12-4) – 29
19. Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (2A) (19-8) – 26
20. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (3A) (16-10) – 22
Also receiving votes: North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (1A) (16-12) – 20; West Port (Ocala) (7A) (16-8) – 18; Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (14-9) – 16; Fort White (Rural) (15-7) – 11; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (16-8) – 6; Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (13-12) – 5; Orange Park (5A) (16-11) – 5; Bradford (Starke) (3A) (12-4) – 3; Eustis (4A) (18-4) – 3; Eastside (Gainesville) (4A) (12-10) – 2; Hilliard (Rural) (16-8) – 1; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (12-11) – 1.