The eighth set of state rankings for the 2023 the season have been released by the NYSSWA. Below are the WNY teams that made the cut:
Class AA
Niagara Falls #10
Health Sciences #11
Jamestown #23
Class A
Canisius #9
Amherst #17
Class B
Timon #4
Lew-Port #10
Salamanca #12
Nichols #21
Fredonia #29
Class C
Randolph #14
Frewsburg #25
Class D
Clymer #10
Panama #17
According to the rankings...
- Falls has risen to #10 in NYS Class AA and Health, who's lone loss is to Canisius (a team Falls also lost to) is one spot behind them. Both teams are as big favorites from the Far West Region of the state and are currently on a collision course to dance in the Section VI Class AA Semifinals at Buff State. A Section VI loss in the Class AA Regional would be considered a massive upset, but a loss in the state semi in Glens Falls to Baldwin is projected.
- Jamestown slips to #23 in NYS Class AA from #16, following its loss to NYS Class B #4 Timon, a seven-spot drop. My strict record-keeping of the NYSSWA committee's handling of such a circumstance (a state-ranked Class AA losing to a state-ranked Class B) suggests they forgot their own precedence from a couple weeks ago. When at the time NYS Class B #16 Lew-Port beat Falls, the Wolverines only moved back two spots in the Class AA rankings. But two weeks later, the #4 team in Class B (Timon) beats a Class AA team (Jamestown) and the Red Raiders fall seven spots from #16 to #23. I guess you are better off losing to a lower ranked team than one in the Top 10....
- Unless you Nichols, that is. The Vikings (last week #11 in NYS Class B) fall way back to #21 in NYS Class B after being clipped by Randolph in overtime. Randolph entered that matchup ranked #15 in NYS Class C.
- Canisius moves up to #9 in NYS Class A, following a loss to unranked St. Joe's, a 2-point win over St. Francis, and a 9-point win against Amherst. I do recall pointing out a couple weeks back that I never remembered a time when there were zero teams state ranked in Class A from the MMA. That experiment in exclusion was very short-lived.
- Lew-Port reaches the NYSPHAA Class B state championship game, but lose to Catholic Central (you know, one of those catholic public schools).
- Nichols wins the CHSAA Class B state championship, if they can just manage to finish under .500 in league play.
- Hocus pocus, Fredonia is #29 in NYS Class B.
- Randolph's win over Nichols at the Centercourt Classic only earned them a one-spot promotion in the NYS Class C rankings from #15 to #14, but there was really no place else for them to move up without leap-frogging teams that didn't lose last week.
- Randolph's game at Frewsburg on Thursday night is a battle of state-ranked teams in NYS Class C. The Bears crashed the rankings party on Sunday night and debuted today at #25.
- Clymer continues to hold down the #10 spot in NYS Class D, but also continues to watch the defending state champions from Avoca/Prattsburgh hold down the top spot in the state, while waiting to introduce themselves to the Pirates at Rush Henrietta HS on Saturday, March 11th in the Far West Regional.
Click HERE for complete NYSSWA State Rankings
-centercourt
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