The Minnesota West Lady Jays are now the No. 1 team in the nation — so says the new National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Women's Basketball poll released Monday.
The Lady Jays, who had previously occupied the No. 3 spot, rose to No. 1 on the basis of a 64-60 victory over then-No. 1 Rochester this past Wednesday night at the Center for Health & Wellness in Worthington. The triumph — which came in Minnesota West's only game last week — improved the Lady Jays' record to 12-7 overall and a perfect 4-0 in Minnesota College Athletic Conference South Division play.
The Lady Jays picked up all nine first-place votes and garnered 105 points. Ranked next at No. 2 is in-state rival Northland Community & Technical College, which had 98 total points, followed by Rochester, which had 91. Anoka-Ramsey, another Minnesota school, is fourth and had 84 points.
In the men's poll, Minnesota West held steady this week, remaining at No. 10 following its buzzer-beating 66-65 win over Rochester. The Bluejays are 17-4 overall and 3-2 in MCAC South action.
Riverland, also in the MCAC South, is the unanimous No. 1 choice and boasts a perfect 22-0 record. Minnesota State of Fergus Falls, meanwhile, is No. 10.
**
The 2024-25 MCAC Wrestling Team Duals took place Sunday at Ridgewater College in Willmar.
Six MCAC teams competed for the championship this year. Rochester claimed the MCAC dual title after going 5-0. Northland and Bismarck State tied for second at 3-2. Ridgewater and Minnesota North-Itasca tied for fourth at 2-3, and Minnesota West was sixth with an 0-5 record.
For the Bluejays, they were defeated by Rochester 54-0 in round one on Sunday. They then lost a close one against Northland 28-24. Sam Rock at 174 pounds and Aidyn Wolfe at 184 each posted wins by fall for Minnesota West, and 149-pounder Joey Wilczek and 197-pounder Brody Knapp each won by decision.
In their next match, the Bluejays were edged again, 24-18, by Ridgewater. Wilczek won by decision as did Wolfe; the other points came from forfeits. Next came a 28-17 setback to Itasca, with Wilczek getting a win by fall and Rock a win by technical fall. In a 36-17 loss to Bismarck State, Rock had a win via technical fall and 285-pounder Powis Mensah got a victory thanks to a pin.
Next up for Minnesota West is a home match against St. John's on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Comentários