Hanford High going to Class 4A; big changes afoot in B ranks

Hanford is set to become the Mid-Columbia Conference’s fifth Class 4A high school for the 2016-20 classification cycle, according to enrollment figures released Thursday by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

The Falcons will join Chiawana, Pasco, Richland and Walla Walla in 4A, while fellow MCC schools Kamiakin, Kennewick and Southridge will remain 3A.

The WIAA executive board will review appeals and finalize the classifications at its Jan. 24-25 meeting.

When the initial enrollment figures for the new four-year classification cycle were released in November, Kamiakin ranked among the 4A schools.

According to the WIAA, the figures are the average enrollment reported to the Office of Public Instruction for grades 9-11 over the course of the calendar year. Private schools provide their monthly numbers to the WIAA.

Schools that opted up shot to the top of the list and eventually knocked Kamiakin below the 4A cutoff of 65 schools. Glacier Peak of Snohomish, which landed at the bottom of the 4A list, had an average enrollment of 1,343.29, while Kamiakin was at 1,310.37.

Schools that were bumped into a lower classification were allowed to opt back up.

“It’s a waterfall situation,” Kamiakin athletic director Casey Gant said. “That’s where we were able to be pushed down into the 3A classification.”

After discussing the possibility of opting up to 4A with Kamiakin coaches, it was decided that the Braves would stay in 3A.

“The coaches all decided they felt comfortable there,” Gant said. “They’ve been in that classification at least the last four years. That’s where we’ll play at.”

Chiawana is far and away the largest MCC school with a 1,903.33 average, nearly 400 students ahead of Pasco and Richland. The Riverhawks rank second in the state only behind South Kitsap (2,024.38).

Hanford’s average of 1,398.13 passed Walla Walla (1,365.95), which is the third smallest 4A school.

Of the 48 schools that opted up among the state’s 384 schools before Wednesday’s deadline, 22 moved to 4A.

The MCC and Greater Spokane League, which will continue with six schools in 4A and four in 3A, will begin discussing playoff scenarios in February.

For sports such as golf and girls swimming, some changes appear to be on the horizon.

With Hanford’s move to 4A, the three Kennewick girls swim teams will need to look at joining up with another district for state berths. In golf, Gant says, an MCC/GSL regional likely is coming.

While the 2A CWAC saw no movement among its 10 teams, College Place and Warden will become the seventh and eighth schools in the 1A SCAC East.

Warden returns to the SCAC East after dropping from 1A to 2B for the 2014-16 classification cycle. College Place, which opted up to 1A, will have freshmen, sophomores and juniors in the 2016-17 school year and will add seniors in 2017-18.

But the biggest shift in the area will be among the B schools.

Liberty Christian is back up to 2B after spending the past two classification cycles (2012-14 and 2014-16) in 1B.

It is expected that the Patriots, who won a state title in 1B 8-man football in 2012, will field a 2B 11-man team. If they opted down in football, they would be ineligible for the postseason.

The Patriots also won a 1B state title in softball last spring.

Liberty Christian, Tri-Cities Prep, DeSales (which again opted up to 2B), Dayton and Walla Walla Valley Academy are set to leave the Southeast District 9 League along with Asotin, which is joining the Northeast 2B League.

Athletic directors Rick Godwin of Liberty Christian and Dan Whitsett of Tri-Cities Prep said their schools are in talks with Dayton, DeSales, WWVA and current Central Washington League schools to form a massive, 18-team District 5/6 league. One configuration being discussed is a league with North and South divisions. Whitsett said Dayton is considering a football combo with 1B Waitsburg and that Lyle-Wishram could be a league member in football, baseball and softball.

It’s also possible that the proposed South schools — Kittitas, White Swan, Mabton, Tri-Cities Prep, Liberty Christian, WWVA, DeSales, Dayton and Lyle-Wishram — could form their own league. Whitsett said a decision is expected in February.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Hanford High going to Class 4A; big changes afoot in B ranks."