BY GREG LUCA AND DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITERS
When the UIL releases its 2016-18 Reclassification and Realignment at 9 a.m. Monday, Edinburg Vela and PSJA High will move up to Class 6A, pushing Weslaco High and Weslaco East into a highly competitive lower-Valley district.
Most realignment projections include a new District 31-6A featuring three PSJA schools (PSJA High, PSJA Memorial and PSJA North) and the four Edinburg schools (Edinburg Vela, Edinburg High, Edinburg North and Edinburg Economedes). That could potentially force Weslaco High and Weslaco East into District 32-6A, with Brownsville Hanna, Brownsville Rivera, Harlingen High, Harlingen South, Los Fresnos and San Benito.
“There’s no other way that I could figure it out,” Weslaco East athletic coordinator Mike Burget said.
Five of those teams were in the playoffs last season, and four of them won at least one playoff game. East will likely have the smallest enrollment in the district, reporting more than 600 fewer students than San Benito, Harlingen High and Los Fresnos at the last realignment.
“It’s going to be a dogfight every week,” Burget said. “We’ve made the playoffs nine straight years here at East. That’s going to be tested next year, big time.”
With Vela reporting an enrollment number of 2,215 and PSJA High reporting an enrollment of 2,205, both land above the 2,150 cutoff to enter Class 6A. Logistically, each seems to be a fit in District 31-6A, alongside sister schools of the same classification.
“We anticipated that once we turned in our snapshot numbers that we’ll move up to 6A,” Edinburg Vela athletic coordinator Michael Salinas told The Monitor in November. “Most coaches (for other sports on campus) anticipated it. We’ll be back at that level. We’ll be with some familiar opponents. I think it will be good for us either way.”
District 30-6A likely stays unchanged, with McAllen Memorial, McAllen High, McAllen Rowe, Mission High, La Joya High, La Joya Palmview and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln remaining together.
Aside from Vela departing its fields and courts, Rio Grande Valley’s Class 5A could see another significant change.
PSJA Southwest did not petition to move up to Class 6A to join sister schools PSJA North, PSJA Memorial and PSJA High, but it still could appeal to do so after Monday’s realignment.
“We don’t know how we’re going to play our cards yet,” PSJA ISD athletic director Orlando Garcia said. “It’s a difficult situation because we would be (appealing) so late. The most logical thing would be to move up the next realignment (in 2018).”
The one way PSJA Southwest would appeal, Garcia said, would be if given the green light by District 31-5A athletic coordinators. Projections have PSJA Southwest moving from 32-5A to 31-5A with two Brownsville schools, Veterans Memorial and Lopez, dropping from 6A to 5A. A new 31-5A is projected to consist of Southwest, Sharyland High, Sharyland Pioneer, Rio Grande City, Roma, Valley View and Mission Veterans Memorial.
If 31-5A athletic coordinators find a fifth non-district game and give Southwest the green light to appeal for a move to Class 6A, Garcia will do so. But if they can’t, Southwest will have no choice but to stay.
An appeal would need approval from the UIL and unanimous approval from 31-5A members. One 31-5A coordinator said he would not grant approval for Southwest to leave for 6A so late in the process. The coordinator wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Garcia could have petitioned to move up a class, with no consequences, up until schools submitted snapshot enrollment numbers in November. But the deadline came and went before PSJA ISD decided anything.
“Moving up was something we talked about and really should have considered more,” Garcia said. “I called the UIL and they said if we didn’t do it at the onset, we would have to do it after the fact. And doing it after the fact puts people in a hole.”
PSJA Southwest reported a snapshot number of 2,075 in October, leaving it just outside of qualifying for Class 6A. Thursday, the UIL released 5A conference cutoffs at 2,149.
Garcia said the reason for moving up Southwest would be to keep it in the same class as sister schools PSJA Memorial, PSJA North and PSJA High.
SUG: UIL reclassification could boast big change for RGV
BY GREG LUCA AND DENNIS SILVA II
STAFF WRITERS
When the UIL releases its 2016-18 Reclassification and Realignment at 9 a.m. Monday, Edinburg Vela and PSJA High will move up to Class 6A, pushing Weslaco High and Weslaco East into a highly competitive lower-Valley district.
Most realignment projections include a new District 31-6A featuring three PSJA schools (PSJA High, PSJA Memorial and PSJA North) and the four Edinburg schools (Edinburg Economedes, Edinburg High, Edinburg North and Edinburg Economedes). That could potentially force Weslaco High and Weslaco East into District 32-6A, with Brownsville Hanna, Brownsville Rivera, Harlingen High, Harlingen South, Los Fresnos and San Benito.
“There’s no other way that I could figure it out,” Weslaco East athletic coordinator Mike Burget said.
Five of those teams were in the playoffs last season, and four of them won at least one playoff game. East will likely have the smallest enrollment in the district, reporting more than 600 fewer students than San Benito, Harlingen High and Los Fresnos at the last realignment.
“It’s going to be a dogfight every week,” Burget said. “We’ve made the playoffs nine straight years here at East. That’s going to be tested next year, big time.”
With Vela reporting an enrollment number of 2,215 and PSJA High reporting an enrollment of 2,205, both land above the 2,150 cutoff to enter Class 6A. Logistically, each seems to be a fit in District 31-6A, alongside sister schools of the same classification.
“We anticipated that once we turned in our snapshot numbers that we’ll move up to 6A,” Edinburg Vela athletic coordinator Michael Salinas told The Monitor in November. “Most coaches (for other sports on campus) anticipated it. We’ll be back at that level. We’ll be with some familiar opponents. I think it will be good for us either way.”
District 30-6A likely stays unchanged, with McAllen Memorial, McAllen High, McAllen Rowe, Mission High, La Joya High, La Joya Palmview and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln remaining together.
Aside from Vela departing its fields and courts, Rio Grande Valley’s Class 5A could see another significant change.
PSJA Southwest did not petition to move up to Class 6A to join sister schools PSJA North, PSJA Memorial and PSJA High, but it still could appeal to do so after Monday’s realignment.
“We don’t know how we’re going to play our cards yet,” PSJA ISD athletic director Orlando Garcia said. “It’s a difficult situation because we would be (appealing) so late. The most logical thing would be to move up the next realignment (in 2018).”
The one way PSJA Southwest would appeal, Garcia said, would be if given the green light by fellow District 31-5A athletic coordinators. Projections have PSJA Southwest moving from 32-5A to 31-5A with two Brownsville schools, Veterans Memorial and Lopez, dropping from 6A to 5A. A new 31-5A is projected to consist of Southwest, Sharyland High, Sharyland Pioneer, Rio Grande City, Roma, Valley View and Mission Veterans Memorial.
If 31-5A athletic coordinators find a fifth non-district game and give Southwest the green light to appeal for a move to Class 6A, Garcia will do so. But if they can’t, Southwest will have no choice but to stay.
An appeal would need approval from the UIL and unanimous approval from 31-5A members. One 31-5A coordinator said he would not grant approval for Southwest to leave for 6A so late in the process. The coordinator wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Garcia could have petitioned to move up a class, with no consequences, up until schools submitted snapshot enrollment numbers in November. But the deadline came and went before PSJA ISD decided anything.
“Moving up was something we talked about and really should have considered more,” Garcia said. “I called the UIL and they said if we didn’t do it at the onset, we would have to do it after the fact. And doing it after the fact puts people in a hole.”
PSJA Southwest reported a snapshot number of 2,075 in October, leaving it just outside of qualifying for Class 6A. Thursday, the UIL released 5A conference cutoffs at 2,149.
Garcia said the reason for moving up Southwest would be to keep it in the same class as sister schools PSJA Memorial, PSJA North and PSJA High.