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UHSAA releases first realignment draft

A couple things appear certain with the UHSAA realignment plans due to be finalized on Dec. 4. One, Park City High School will remain at the 3AA level for football and the 3A level for all other sports. Two, South Summit and North Summit high schools with both remain at the 2A classification for all sports.

Still, the landscape around all three schools could be drastically different by the time the realignment plan for the next two school years is set in stone.

For example, in 2A football, Summit Academy and American Leadership are expected to move up to 3A, while Parowan and Layton Christian will seemingly drop to the 1A level. That means South Summit and North Summit will be among 10 remaining 2A teams.

For Park City, longtime-foe Uintah will almost certainly move up to 4A in all sports, thanks to a huge increase in enrollment. That would take away one of the five schools currently in Region 10, where Park City plays.

As things sit currently, Park City would become part of a region with holdovers Juan Diego and Union and newcomers Orem and Judge Memorial. But PCHS Activities Director Jamie Sheetz said he doesn’t expect those to be the five Region 10 teams when the proposal is finalized.

"We’re in such a volatile region that may see two teams essentially removed in Orem, who is potentially going to 4A and Judge," he said. "If they apply for 4A again, we’re left with three teams."

Orem is a "bubble school," meaning its enrollment numbers are near enough to the top of 3A that petitioning to move to 4A, where it competed during the last realignment cycle, is a possibility.

Judge Memorial, on the other hand, is one of the smaller 3A schools, but played in 4A the last two years due to travel concerns and other factors. Any school can petition to play up a classification, Sheetz said.

He expects both Orem and Judge to continue playing at the 4A level, which puts Park City, Juan Diego and Union in uncertain waters. Under the realignment proposal, Morgan, which has been a part of Region 10 the past two years, has moved to a more northern region with Bear River, Tooele, Grantsville and Stansbury. But, Sheetz added, Ben Lomond, a 4A school under the proposal, will probably petition to remain in 3A, which could push Morgan back into Region 10.

Still, even if Morgan comes back, that leaves Park City’s region with only four teams. The big question will be what team is placed into the region to give it five teams.

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, there will be a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. at the UHSAA office where schools on the bubble between classifications can argue whether they want to play up or down. Sheetz said he plans to attend that meeting but doesn’t know what he’ll say, if anything.

"I don’t know that we’re in a position to make too many arguments, simply because the bubble schools are the ones who can petition for class, up or down," he said. "I think I’m going to do a lot of listening at the public hearing and see what people are arguing. If that affects us, I would try to make sure I have a good handle on what scenarios might happen and be ready to argue our case if we have one."

No matter what class PCHS ends up in, or what teams fill out Region 10, Sheetz said the focus will continue to be making sure the Miners are doing the right things on and off the field.

"The coaches are always trying to put the best product on the field no matter who we’re playing our competing against," he said. "The big thing for us is to continue pushing our kids no matter what class we’re in."

The realignment plan will be finalized on Dec. 4. The changes will take effect in the fall of 2015. For more information on realignment, visit http://www.uhsaa.org .


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