Welcome to By the Books, where we let you know how our local teams are faring in the CIF, state, and national rankings!  Let's do it.

Boys' Basketball

This continues to be Long Beach's best sport, with four teams from the city ranked in the CIF.  First, the small but mighty Saint Anthony Saints make an appearance in the Division 5 poll, coming in at fifth place.  Then, in the Division 2 poll, Compton is sitting at no. 7.  Two other Moore League teams are in the Division 1 rankings, with Jordan climbing back in this week at no. 16, and Poly still sitting pretty at no. 2, right behind Mater Dei.  Barring a shocking upset to Mater Dei, Poly is virtually assured of keeping the two-seed for the playoff seedings, which will be revealed this Sunday.  Poly is also making some noise on a larger level, as CalHiSports has them at no. 3 in the state for Division 1, ESPN has them no. 9 in the West, and MaxPreps has them no. 4 in the state, and no. 28 in the country, down four spots from last week.

Girls' Basketball

Poly continues to have a strong showing in the rankings, but what else is new?  Four teams from LB are in the CIF rankings, with Saint Anthony pulling down another strong showing in Division 5, this time ranked no. 2.  In Division 1, Millikan is at no. 12, while Jordan is tied at no. 7—looking at the teams above them (they're tied with Colony and behind Great Oak, Cajon, Etiwanda, Troy, Corona Santiago, and Poly) I think they'll finish higher than that, but it would be helpful to the Panthers' playoff path if that ranking went up before Sunday's brackets come out.

Poly of course, is still no. 1—that wasn't going to drop after an impressive win over Whitney Young on Saturday, and the Rabbits will go into the playoffs next week as the odds-on favorite for a CIF-SS title.  CalHiSports has them at no. 1 in Division 1, and 4 in the state overall, behind lower division teams Mater Dei, Brea, and top-ranked St. Mary's.  ESPN has Poly at no. 8 in the nation, but those rankings are old—they still have Whitney Young at no. 2 in the country, so we'll have to see how much credit they give Poly for an impressive win over the Dolphins.  MaxPreps has Poly at no. 4 in the nation, behind Brea, St. Mary's, then Mater Dei. Those four teams have been deadlocked for a while, though, and could be unlikely to change.

Girls' Soccer

Wilson remains the only Moore League team ranked, coming in at no. 5 in CIF.  They'd love to move into a top-four spot for seeding purposes, but that looks unlikely at this point.  They're no. 37 in the nation according to ESPN.

Boys' Soccer

Millikan is still the top-ranked team in CIF Division 1, and by sewing up the league title today they've probably guaranteed they'll hold that position, and incredible accomplishment given that they graduated nearly the entire roster last season.  They're up six spots to no. 32 in the nation on ESPN's rankings.

Girls' Water Polo

Wilson remains the only ranked team, sitting at no. 7 in Division 1.