With the regular season starting to wind down, Sports Editor MATT DANIELS unveils The News-Gazette’s area Top 10 rankings:
1. Watseka
➜ Record: 21-1
➜ Previous ranking: No. 1
Rennah Barrett and the Warriors can extend their win streak to 20 games on Thursday night at home against Armstrong-Potomac. Then, the schedule ramps up. First is a nonconference showdown at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley that awaits at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday before a trip to Catlin to play Salt Fork next Monday night.
2. Cissna Park
➜ Record: 18-3
➜ Previous ranking: No. 2
Ava Henrichs and the Timberwolves aren’t afraid to play tough competition in their nonconference schedule. Cissna Park next plays on Friday at Oakwood before hosting state-ranked Central Southeastern on Saturday afternoon, with the Timberwolves nearing the 20-win mark this winter.
3. Salt Fork
➜ Record: 23-2
➜ Previous ranking: No. 3
Taylor Remole and the Storm, fresh off the program’s fourth straight Vermilion County Tournament title last Friday night, have won six straight games after Wednesday night’s nonconference triumph at Danville. Salt Fork could shake up the Vermilion Valley Conference race next Monday when it hosts Watseka.
4. Sullivan
➜ Record: 22-3
➜ Previous ranking: No. 5
Devon Richardson and the Redskins have yet to lose in 2025. Pretty impressive. A Lincoln Prairie Conference tournament championship win against Cumberland this past Saturday night is the highlight so far. Sullivan has a chance to carry a nine-game win streak into February if it can win Thursday night at Tri-County.
5. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
➜ Record: 19-4
➜ Previous ranking: No. 4
Mallory Rosendahl and the Falcons rebounded from a heartbreaking loss to Eureka in the McLean County/Heart of Illinois Conference Tournament title game by cruising past Ridgeview on the road Monday night. Two more tests awaits: Thursday at Deer Creek-Mackinaw and Saturday at home against Watseka.
6. Clinton
➜ Record: 20-5
➜ Previous ranking: No. 6
Clara Dempsey and the Maroons will play for a Central Illinois Conference Tournament title on Thursday night after easily defeating Central A&M on Tuesday night. The latest win has Clinton riding a nine-game win streak, with a chance to make it 10 if it can beat Tuscola on Thursday for the second time this seaosn.
7. Mahomet-Seymour
➜ Record: 16-8
➜ Previous ranking: No. 7
Addie Lagacy and the Bulldogs have won their last three games by a combined 74 points against Normal U-High, Urbana and Mt. Zion. All those double-digit victories have Mahomet-Seymour feeling good before it hosts Charleston on Thursday night and Effingham on Saturday afternoon in Apollo Conference games.
8. Monticello
➜ Record: 14-8
➜ Previous ranking: No. 9
Pearl Glaze and the Sages made it three straight wins with Monday night’s home Illini Prairie Conference victory against Rantoul. A Thursday night home nonconference date with Pawnee and a trip to Maroa-Forsyth on Saturday for an Illini Prairie-Sangamo Shootout game against Athens are next on the docket.
9. Hoopeston Area
➜ Record: 15-8
➜ Previous ranking: Not ranked
Claire Dixon and the Cornjerkers placed second at the Vermilion County Tournament and started this week with lopsided wins against Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin and St. Thomas More. Hoopeston Area hosts Iroquois West on Thursday night for a Pack the Place event, with the first 200 fans receiving t-shirts.
10. Tuscola
➜ Record: 14-9
➜ Previous ranking: Not ranked
Taylor Gordon and the Warriors will try to avoid a second loss to Clinton this season when the two teams meet Thursday night in the Central Illinois Tournament title game in Clinton. Tuscola brings a three-game win streak — its third such instance this winter — into Thursday night before it hosts Cissna Park next Monday night.
