HS: Winter state, region rankings, Jan. 30

by Sheldon Shealer

January 30, 2017

Pleasant Valley (Chico, Calif.) is on the verge of something big, and it seems appropriate given this is a school on the mend.

Pleasant Valley's boys soccer team tied the state record for longest undefeated streak at 79 matches last week, and it gets a chance to snap that mark Wednesday against a team it has twice defeated this season. Just two weeks ago, Pleasant Valley was in the news for a tragic reason as its girls soccer coach died in a car accident. Needless to say, a soccer state record will help lift the spirits for a soccer program that has riden a wave of emotion recently.

AROUND THE COUNTRY:

Mississippi will crown its state champions this week, and perennial boys power Madison Central is out of the mix. Northwest Rankin, Ocean Springs and Clinton are the Class 6A favorites. On the girls side, Oxford in Class 5A, West Lauderdale in Class 4A and the combo of Madison Central and Brandon in Class 6A are the favorites.

The Hawaii girls soccer state tournament will be held this week with Mililani, Punahou and Iolani among the favorites.

The current state No. 1s for boys are Campo Verde (Gilbert, Ariz.), Godinez (Anaheim, Calif.), Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), Kapolei (Hawaii), St. Paul's (Covington, La.), Northwest Rankin (Flowood, Miss.) and Alief Elsik (Houston, Texas). On the girls side, the state No. 1s are Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), [Liberty ca-m] (Brentwood, Calif.), St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park, Fla.), Iolani (Honolulu, Hawaii), St. Scholastica (Covington, La.), Oxford (Miss.) and Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas).