The dominoes are starting to fall for the 2024-28 high school reclassification cycle in Washington and in the South Sound.
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The 2023-24 school year is the final year of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association four-year classification cycle, which classifies high schools into 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A, 2B and 1B, based on enrollment size. The goal is to maintain competitive balance.
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Athletic directors from the 3A South Sound Conference and the 3A Pierce County League met at the Cloverleaf pizza restaurant on 6th Avenue in Tacoma last month to discuss the future of their leagues. The idea they settled on over a table of large pies: a merger.
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The name of the new league is yet to be determined, but it’ll include the following schools: Central Kitsap, Silas, Stadium (maybe, more on that in a moment), Mount Tahoma, Lincoln, Bellarmine Prep, Peninsula, Gig Harbor, Lakes, Timberline, Capital, River Ridge and North Thurston.
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Former 3A SSC member Yelm and former 3A PCL members Bonney Lake and Spanaway Lake are likely moving up to Class 4A and joining the 4A South Puget Sound League, which will need to split into divisions across all sports to accommodate the additional schools.
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Bellarmine Prep, a private Catholic school in Tacoma, has long competed in the Class 4A level despite having 2A enrollment numbers. This time around, Bellarmine is opting up to 3A. There are a few reasons for the move down, according to a source at Bellarmine: mostly competitive and travel concerns, as well as a bit of nostalgia.
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“We missed the old Narrows league,” the source said. “The Tacoma (public) schools and Bellarmine have always been in the same league, except the last three cycles.”
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Bellarmine has mostly fielded competitive athletic programs, but has struggled in football, where it has been unable to match up against the state’s largest schools, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. When the idea of a 3A PCL and SSC merger began to take hold, Bellarmine administrators felt it was the right time to make a move.
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“The stars kind of aligned,” the source said.
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Bellarmine also provided an official statement Tuesday afternoon.
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“We extend our gratitude to the South Puget Sound League for the valuable experiences and relationships we have built over the years,” it states. “As we look to the future, we are excited to create new connections and rekindle existing partnerships in our new 3A league.”
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Since the merged 3A league will draw from three different counties — Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston — naming it the 3A Pierce County League will seemingly be off the table. The 3A South Sound Conference, 3A South Puget Sound League and 3A Narrows League are possibilities.
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Stadium, a Tacoma Public School, is currently above the 3A cutoff line of 1,200 students set by the WIAA at 1,215 students. Sources say Stadium is appealing and hopes to stay in 3A to remain with the other Tacoma schools, but the appeal process figures to be tougher this time around. The WIAA is trying to balance the 3A and 4A classifications this time around. Currently, there are more 3A schools than 4A schools, which caused bloated 3A state tournament brackets in the 2020-24 cycle. The WIAA wants 16-team state tournaments in the next cycle in the 3A classification.
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WHAT THE NEW LEAGUES COULD LOOK LIKE
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Whatever it ends up being called, the new 3A league could have the following divisions:
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- NORTH: Central Kitsap, Silas, Bellarmine, Mount Tahoma, Gig Harbor, Lincoln, Stadium (TBD)
- SOUTH: Timberline, Capital, River Ridge, North Thurston, Peninsula, Lakes
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An interesting takeaway: Gig Harbor and Peninsula potentially being in separate divisions, despite both being west of the Narrows Bridge and both being in the Peninsula School District. For travel purposes, it would seem to make sense to group the schools into the same division, but multiple sources told the TNT that Peninsula School District superintendent Krestin Bahr wants the two high schools playing in different divisions to limit how often they compete against each other.
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“It’s kind of like asking someone else to come clean up your house for you,” said another source. “I found it interesting.”
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The district is still dealing with the fallout from the Fish Bowl football rivalry game last fall. The controversy came on the heels of an investigation of an allegation that a racial slur was used by a Gig Harbor girls basketball player in a game against Peninsula the previous winter.
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In the past, some South Sound 3A schools have been reluctant to partner with the Tacoma Public Schools, citing a lack of sub-varsity program depth as an issue. It didn’t pop up this time around.
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“I thought that’d be a big part of it (again),” said one Tacoma administrator. “It hasn’t been. I think people trust Tacoma now.”
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OTHER SCHOOLS ON THE MOVE
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Yelm, Bonney Lake and Spanaway Lake are likely headed up from 3A to the 4A SPSL, which will also need to split into divisions, which will use State Route 512 as a north-south divider. The divisions could look like this:
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- NORTH: Puyallup, Sumner, South Kitsap, Bonney Lake, Curtis, Stadium (TBD)
- SOUTH: Olympia, Yelm, Graham-Kapowsin, Spanaway Lake, Bethel, Emerald Ridge, Rogers
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Rogers is located south of 512, but if Stadium stays in 3A, Rogers would be the most likely candidate to move to the North to balance the divisions, given its proximity to Puyallup High School.
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Enumclaw and White River, both current members of the 2A South Puget Sound League, are moving up to the 3A. Sources say they’re likely joining the 3A North Puget Sound League.
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Athletic directors from the 3A SSC and 3A PCL will meet again next week. The deadline to submit finalized league proposals to the WIAA is Jan. 21.
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This story has been updated with a statement from Bellarmine Prep.
This story was first published January 2, 2024, 1:42 p.m.