By Pierre LaBossiere
Peninsula Daily news
OLYMPIA — The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association released last week the first Rating Percentage Index for boys’ and girls’ basketball teams.
The RPI will be used by the WIAA to help determine the 16 teams making it to the state tournament in each classification. The RPI is determined by a formula taking into account win percentage, opponents’ win percentage, opponents’ opponents’ win percentage and strength of schedule.
The Port Angeles boys, who are 7-5, are ranked No. 26 (out of 65 schools) among Class 2A teams. Other Olympic League 2 Division teams ranked higher than Port Angeles are North Kitsap at No. 11 and Kingston at No. 25. The Sequim boys are ranked No. 60.
The Port Angeles girls at 6-6 are ranked No. 27. Other Olympic League 2A Division teams above Port Angeles are Olympic (No. 13) and North Kitsap (No. 16).
Interestingly, while Port Angeles is far below the rankings from these two teams, the Roughriders beat North Kitsap, and lost to Olympic when Olympic was awarded free throws with 0:00 on the clock at the end of the game.
The Sequim girls are ranked No. 33.
An interesting ranking is the Neah Bay boys. The defending 1B state champions got off to a slow 1-3 start this season, partly because their football season stretched into December. The Red Devils have won five straight since, often by wide margins.
However, Neah Bay at the moment is No 12 in the RPI. The Red Devils’ rival, Lummi is ranked No. 1 among 1B schools.
The Clallam Bay girls are the highest-ranked team on the Olympic Peninsula. They are seventh among 1B schools.
A list of the local teams’ rankings:
Division 2A Boys
Port Angeles, 26th; Sequim, 60th.
Division 1A Boys
Port Townsend, 26th; Forks, 39th; Chimacum, 61st.
Division 1B Boys
Neah Bay, 12th; Crescent, 19th; Quilcene, 26th; Clallam Bay, 38th.
Division 2A Girls
Port Angeles 27th; Sequim 33rd.
Division 1A Girls
Port Townsend, 32nd; Chimacum 40th; Forks 60th.
Division 1B Girls
Clallam Bay, 7th; Neah Bay, 10th, Quilcene, 13th; Crescent 60th.
