Reclassification will alter local prep leagues next year
While nothing will be official until January, it appears likely that the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League won’t be as great as in the past. At least in terms of numbers.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has released initial enrollment numbers that will be used to reclassify the state’s high school athletics programs, which could lead to a five-team 4A GSHL and a seven-team 3A GSHL starting next school year.
Union is projected to move from Class 3A to 4A, while Mountain View and Kelso are slated to move from 4A to 3A.
The goal for the WIAA is to have an equal, or close to equal, number of teams in each classification. The organization hopes to have 66 Class 4A, 3A, and 2A schools, for a total of 198. Then there would be 65 1A schools, and 62 in each of the 2B and 1B classifications.
Schools received the enrollment numbers this week and have until Dec. 15 to “opt-up” in order play in a larger classification. After all the opt-ups are figured into the equation, the lines will be drawn with the top 66 in 4A, the next 66 in 3A, and so on.
“I can’t see any (Southwest Washington) 3A teams moving up,” said Camas athletic director Terry Cavender, who also has worked for the WIAA. “It would take some kind of drastic issue for that to change. Barring something unusual happening, it could end up being a seven-and-five (split).”
Kelso is the 69th-largest school in the state. When other schools opt-up, Kelso will fall farther down the ranks and remain safely in the 3A classification after two years as a 4A school. Camas came in at No. 70, while Mountain View is 73.
There had been some talk among local school officials that one of the 3A teams would opt-up to maintain the current set-up, which consists of two six-team leagues. But Kelso, according to Cavender, will not seek to compete at 4A. Camas will remain a 3A school, too, although Cavender expects the school will grow and become a 4A school two years from now at the next reclassification.
Mountain View, a 4A team for years, will be making a move to 3A.
“The Mountain View administration decided ahead of time to fill out the paperwork that indicated we would play the numbers,” Mountain View athletic director Adam Mathieson said. “The Mountain View administration will honor those numbers.”
But again, school officials can change their minds before the Dec. 15 deadline.
Union, a 3A school in its first three years of existence, now is the 40th-largest school in the state, and the fifth largest in Clark County.
“The level of competition is negligible. The good 3A teams can always compete with the good 4A teams,” Union athletic coordinator Cale Piland said. “It’s really not going to be that big of a change in regard to how our programs are run or what our expectations are.”
Battle Ground is the 14th-largest school in the state and the largest in Clark County, coming in with an average enrollment of 1,678.9 students in grades 10 through 12. The average was determined over the past eight months.
Camas is expected to be the largest 3A Clark County school, ranked 70th in the state with a 1,273.13 average.
There are a total of 12 Class 3A and 4A schools. Cavender said the even number of teams will help with non-league schedules.
“The key is trying to help each other out,” he said.
Finding a balance
The reclassification process has changed several times through the years. The WIAA went with this system two years ago in an effort to equalize the classifications. However, the rules did not take into account the opt-ups, so the classes were unbalanced again.
This school year, for example, there are 79 4A schools, 69 3A schools, and 55 2A schools. All three classifications have the same number of state playoff berths in their respective tournaments.
Now, the WIAA is asking for opt-ups before the final classifications are announced, to try to get a balance.
“Hopefully, this will address that somewhat,” Cavender said.
The classes still might not be exactly equal because there is an appeals window in January for late opt-ups. If any of those are granted, it would not change the lines drawn for classifications purposes.
The 2A Greater St. Helens League, meanwhile, might see a change, or — get this — might not.
Ridgefield is ranked 197th right now in the state, and the cutoff for 2A schools would be at No. 198. But with just two opt-ups, Ridgefield would drop to a 1A school.
However, Ridgefield athletic director Debbie Bentler confirmed Friday that the Spudders would choose to compete as a 2A school.
Hockinson is at No. 190 right now, and the Hawks could drop to 1A, as well. Athletic director Beth Tugaw said a decision has not been made, but the Hawks are leaning toward staying in 2A.
Woodland is at No. 183. That might be a stretch to fall all the way to 1A, but if it does happen, assistant superintendent Craig Downs said the school would compete as a 1A program.
The Dec. 15 opt-up is the next big date in this process. The WIAA will announce the classifications by Jan. 4, 2010. From there, schools will have until Jan. 15 for a final appeal, but those will be granted only if approved by league, district, and then WIAA officials.
All of this should be finalized at the WIAA’s Executive Meeting Jan. 23-24.
