25 Schools Will Move Up In Class

The numbers have been tallied and the results are in - 25 high schools will move up a classification for sports next season because of current enrollment numbers.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association executive board approved the moves at its Jan. 28 meeting, along with 16 schools opting up - playing in a classification above their enrollment figures.

The immediate impact on Eastern Washington is minimal. Riverside will leave the Northeast A for the Class AA Frontier League, Dayton goes from B to A.

What the numbers mean as far as state tourney berths won’t be known until the executive board meets the week after the state basketball tournaments. And nothing will be official until May.

However, the Class AAA Greater Spokane League and Big Nine have reason to be wary. Nine schools are moving up from Class AA and a new school with AA enrollment has opted to start at the AAA level.

State berths are determined by the complicated Opstad Formula, which takes into consideration the number of schools per classification as well as school enrollment. All 10 new Class AAA schools are on the West Side.

Over the recent two-year allocation period, the GSL had three berths to state for the sports involved (cross country, volleyball, basketball and track) - two in 1993-94 and one this year. The Big Nine had two.

Don Bagnall, assistant executive director who crunches the enrollment numbers for the WIAA, said, “I wouldn’t hazard to guess,” what the impact will be on the Class AAA schools in Eastern Washington. “There are more people vying for a piece of the pie and it’s a proportional kind of thing.”

The Class AA schools forced to move up are Sehome in Bellingham, Kamiak in Mukilteo, Shorecrest in Shoreline, Seattle Metro League teams Garfield, Franklin and Roosevelt, Enumclaw, Mount Vernon and Shelton.

Riverside, a new school opening in Auburn, is going to start at AAA.

Another new school is Henry Jackson of Mill Creek, near Everett. Starting with just sophomores, HJ will play in AA for two years, though it opens with A numbers. It is expected to be AAA by its third year.

The opt-up schools are not surprising. That list includes Gonzaga Prep, Mercer Island, Bellevue, Interlake of Bellevue and others mostly longestablished in their Triple-A leagues.