The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Executive Board is soon to approve the final numbers for the 2024-28 classification cycle, and four local schools could be on the move.
In May, the WIAA approved an amendment to redefine the enrollment parameters in Class 4A and 3A, lowering the enrollment floor for 4A schools in an attempt to rebalance the two classifications.
The WIAA released its latest enrollment numbers in December, with classifications set at 1,201 or more students for 4A, 900-1,200 for 3A, 450-899 for 2A, 225-449 for 1A, 105-224 for 2B and 1-104 for 1B. The previous 4A floor was 1,300 students.
The executive board’s meeting to approve the final numbers is Sunday, Jan. 21. Final classification appeals are scheduled for Jan. 18-19.
Arlington (1,234.1), Cascade (1,223.5), Marysville Pilchuck (837.4) and Sultan (466) are all slated to move up or down a classification. Arlington High School athletic director Tom Roys said the WIAA can still alter enrollment ranges for classifications before approving the final numbers.
If the current numbers hold, Arlington and Cascade would move up from 3A to 4A and help rebalance the number of 4A and 3A schools in Wesco. The additions would bring Wesco up to seven 4A members and subtract from the current 14 3A members. Cascade was a 4A school as recently as the 2019-2020 school year, and Arlington as recently as 2013-14.
Marysville Pilchuck opted up from 2A to 3A during the 2020-24 reclassification cycle. According to Marysville School District athletic director Rocky Verbeck, the Tomahawks won’t be opting up out of 2A for the upcoming cycle. They also plan on becoming a football-only member in the 2A Northwest Conference, joining fellow Wesco member Archbishop Murphy.
Sultan came in just above the 2A threshold. Sultan High School athletic director Scott Sifferman said the school has submitted an appeal to the WIAA to remain a 1A school. The Turks compete in the 1A Emerald Sound Conference and would become the only 2A school within their league if the appeal is denied.
Sifferman said there are ongoing discussions of shifting the Emerald Sound Conference to include 2A schools as well, but the main goal would be maintaining an all-1A status.
Sifferman also said that alternative options, such as a possible move into KingCo or Wesco, are both on the table.
“When you look at the numbers, we would be on the smaller end of the 2A’s, which we have been at before,” Sifferman said. “Our programs aren’t dominating at the 1A level. We’ll compete wherever we have to compete. However, just looking at the size of our programs, we would like to continue as a 1A school right now and we have an appeal in process for that.”
Archbishop Murphy (311.1), which regularly opts up to 2A, is intending to opt up again, according to the WIAA’s numbers release.
Mount Vernon (1,199.8), which was a Wesco 4A member in the previous cycle before moving down to 3A and joining the Northwest Conference for the 2020-24 cycle, is set to remain a 3A school just under the 4A threshold, due to its reduced-lunch-rate reduction. Glacier Peak (1,210.6) came in just above the most recent 4A line.
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