WIAA creates ranking committees for all high school sports for state tournaments
There has been a lot of news in the past week regarding the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
The biggest news, in my eyes, is that the WIAA has agreed to use seeding committees for other sports beginning this fall.
The Eli Sports Network broke the story, saying that because high school football has used the seeding committees — and that it’s worked pretty well — the WIAA will now begin using the seeding committee format for all other team sports.
That would be baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, fastpitch softball, slowpitch softball and volleyball.
For the past few years, boys and girls basketball has used an RPI ratings system to help seed teams for the postseason.
The RPI still will be used, but only as a tool for committees in seeding.
No committees will determine who qualifies for the state tournament — that would be determined through the normal district playoffs.
But once teams have qualified, the committees will rank those teams to set up pairings.
• The WIAA representative assembly passed 18 amendments on Monday, and failed five others.
The assembly has 53 school administrators — 35 from high schools, 18 from middle schools — who represent all nine WIAA districts.
At least 60 percent of a vote must occur for an amendment to pass.
Among those amendments that stand out are a 30-second shot clock for both boys and girls basketball (boys had a 35-second shot clock; girls have been at 30).
Now 1B schools can opt to move from 8-man football down to 6-man football. Those schools who choose to, must suit up no more than 16 players for any game.
High school volleyball teams can now expand their regular-season schedule from 16 to 18 matches.
And wrestlers can compete in up to six matches in one day. The old limit was five matches.
The one amendment that failed that stood out: high school basketball teams wanting to expand their regular-season schedule from 20 games up to 24.
That failed miserably, with 31 voting against it and just 4 for it.
Scholastic Cup champs
Last month, the WIAA named its Scholastic Cup champions. The Scholastic Cup, considered the WIAA’s most prestigious annual award, recognizes the top school in each of the six WIAA classifications based on academic, athletic and sportsmanship excellence.
Points are awarded by a school’s finish in each of the state championships and academic state championships.
Because of the cancellation of spring sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s winners include points scored during the fall and winter seasons.
Here’s a rundown of each classification:
Class 4A
Central Valley in Spokane rolled to its first title, scoring an impressive 1,015 points.
The Bears grabbed 100 points each on state titles from girls basketball and slowpitch softball.
There were 66 teams in this classification, and Hanford was the area’s highest placer, finishing tied for 19th with Wenatchee.
The Falcons had 315 points, of which 100 of them came from the boys cross country team for having the top grade point average.
Chiawana finished 21st with 310 points. That included 100 points from the boys wrestling team for winning the state team title in February.
Class 3A
Mt. Spokane used the strength of state competition team titles in slowpitch softball, volleyball and boys wrestling to run away with the championship with 1,200 points.
Both Kamiakin and Kennewick were among the top third of the 67 schools in this classification.
Kamiakin finished ninth with 512 points, with the boys cross country team winning a state title last November for 100 points.
Kennewick was 21st with 275 points. The Lions’ girls wrestling team was responsible for 120 of those points, thanks to a second-place team finish in Tacoma for 80, and another 40 points for a fifth-place finish in academics.
Class 2A
Sehome of Bellingham won the title with 865 points.
That included a boys cross country state championship, and three state academic titles in dance/drill, girls gymnastics and boys wrestling.
No Mid-Columbia schools were in the top third of the 64 Class 2A schools.
Class 1A
Led by its boys basketball state championship in March, King’s of Seattle won the Scholastic Cup crown with 965 points.
But three area schools also finished in the top third of the 66 schools in this classification.
Connell finished seventh with 467 points. The Eagles’ leader was the first-place academic finish (for 100 points) for the winter cheer team.
Royal placed 14th with 275 points. The Knights’ football team won the 1A state title in December, while the dance/drill team was tops in academics.
And Warden tied for 22nd with 175 points. The Cougars were led by the girls wrestling team’s 80 points for finishing second in academics.
Class 2B
Saint George’s of Spokane took the title with 755 points, led by a boys soccer championship in the fall.
Walla Walla Valley Academy was the region’s lone placer among the top one-third of the 66 schools, with 245 points.
The school’s boys soccer and boys basketball teams each won academic state titles.
Class 1B
Mount Vernon Christian won the team title with 775 points, which included three academic state championships.
No area schools were among the top third.
Winterhawks for sale
Dwight Jaynes of NBC Sports Northwest in Portland revealed this week that the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks franchise is for sale.
The team’s current owner, Edmonton oilman Bill Gallacher (who has owned the franchise since 2008) has seen several of his companies go bankrupt.
Jaynes wrote that the Winterhawks are one of a number of Gallacher’s companies that he put up as security against a loan he did not repay.
The Winterhawks are now in receivership, which means the team will be sold to help repay the loan.
Jaynes said that a group that owns the Portland Pickles, a team in the summer college baseball league called the West Coast League, is looking into possibly purchasing the WHL team. Former Seahawks punter Jon Ryan is part of the Pickles group.