Valley Top 5: League battles pushing teams to be at their best

By Daily Herald - | Jan 24, 2022

Skyridge head coach Jeff Gardner directs his team during the Region 4 game at American Fork on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

Each week the Daily Herald ranks the Top 5 boys basketball, girls basketball, and boys and girls wrestling teams in Utah Valley:

BOYS BASKETBALL

1. Orem (5-0, 16-0)

Tigers stay undefeated, led Mtn. View 40-15 at halftime.

2. Skyridge (4-0, 12-2)

Nick Holland, Colby Carter tearing it up for Falcons.

3. Payson (5-0, 14-1)

Zach Robbins with 32 points, five 3-pointers in OT win vs. Tooele.

4. Pleasant Grove (3-0, 13-3)

Vikings off to great start in Region 4, wins vs. AF and Westlake last week.

5. Westlake (1-2, 10-5)

Dylan Jones held to just six points in 59-56 loss to Pleasant Grove.

– Darnell Dickson

Girls basketball

1. Lone Peak (12-0, 3-0)

The Knights may face their toughest test so far against Westlake on Friday.

2. Westlake (15-1, 2-1)

The Thunder rallied for two wins after dropping their first game of the season.

3. Timpview (10-3, 3-1)

The Thunderbirds played a great game to win at Lehi.

4. Lehi (13-4, 4-2)

The Pioneers have just one game this week as they look to improve.

5. Skyridge (9-5, 2-1)

The Falcons weren’t quite able to get past Lone Peak.

– Jared Lloyd

Boys wrestling

1. Pleasant Grove

Vikings went 7-2 at 6A Duals but sat out many of its top grapplers.

2. Payson

Lions closer to full strength at 5A Duals going 5-0 and its B team went 4-1 as well to show off the program’s depth.

3. Wasatch

Wasps went 5-0 at 5A Duals and beat Payson in a dual meet earlier in the week.

4. Westlake

Thunder mixed and matched its line-up at the 6A Duals with mixed results.

5. Salem Hills

Skyhawks went 4-1 at 5A Duals only losing to Payson.

– Brian E. Preece

Girls wrestling

1. Westlake

Big week for the Thunder as they win the Utah Girls Dual Championship and beat Mountain Crest.

2. Maple Mountain

The Golden Eagles, led by Hailey Corona, defeat Juab, coached by her father and former Maple Mountain head coach Billy Cox, in a thrilling 42-39 dual meet.

3. Springville

Red Devils crown several individual champions at a tournament hosted by Mountain View.

4. Mountain View

Bruins still a formidable challenger in the 5A ranks.

5. Pleasant Grove

Vikings look to place in the top five in the 6A division.