Who is your new high school rival? UHSAA finalizes reshuffling of classifications

Midvale • Realigning high schools into athletic classifications differs little from actual competition.

There are winners and losers.

That was the case Thursday as the Utah High School Activities Association's board of trustees finalized schools' league assignments for the 2015-2017 season.

Roy left unhappy about being moved from 4A to 5A. And Salt Lake City schools East and Highland were upset about being placed in a northern Class 4A region. Payson was moved up to 4A after asking to be in 3A. Ogden had requested to be dropped to 3A for competitive reasons.

Others left the meeting feeling like winners.

Cyprus dropped from 5A to 4A. Juab was placed in a 3A football region with traditional rivals. Judge was moved up to 3AA in football, as it requested. Ben Lomond and Logan became 3A schools. Jordan was allowed to stay in 5A. Alta, a traditional 5A power that has lost students since Corner Canyon opened last year, was moved to 4A. And charter schools Summit Academy and American Leadership Academy were allowed to stay in 2A.

Board chairman Bill Boyle, a school board member from San Juan County, said there are always winners and losers in this process, which makes it intense.

"We were able to accommodate 80 or 90 percent of the requests," he said. "And I feel really good about the 3A football issue."

But not everyone was happy.

Schools have 10 days to present new information and file a formal appeal, which would then be considered at the board's January meeting.

Dean Oborn, who represents the Weber School District on the board, said Roy was unhappy about being placed in 5A. The Royals wanted to stay in 4A.

Salt Lake City school board member Heather Bennett fought hard to keep East and Highland in a region with such schools as Olympus and Skyline, but the Leopards and Rams were put in a league with Bountiful, Woods Cross, Box Elder, Ogden and Bonneville.

"I'm upset by the way this happened," Bennett said. "You need to open the discussion to the schools that are affected. You penalized schools that didn't think they had anything to worry about. You will see an appeal by East and Highland."

Setting up the new regions and moving schools into bigger or smaller classifications is always a juggling act. Board members consider travel costs, preserving rivalries, gate receipts and, most important, school numbers.

What complicated this process further will be the opening of new high schools in Cache and Utah counties in the next year, as well as the additions of more charter and private schools.

wharton@sltrib.com

Twitter: @Tribtomwharton