RENTON — The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) announced size classifications for member schools Sunday, Jan. 27, and south Pacific County athletes will continue playing in the same classes they have been.

WIAA’s classifications will be in effect for the 2020-21 through 2023-24 high school sports seasons. The governing body divides the state’s schools into six classifications based on school size, with each school competing for championships within its size range. From smallest to biggest, the classifications are 1B, 2B, 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A.

Ilwaco High School will remain a 2B school, helped by a new rule that adjusts for the number of students on free and reduced-price meal programs. Naselle High School will stay in 1B, where there will now likely be stronger regional competition than had been the case.

Ilwaco’s Pacific League, a 2B league, will look different. Pe Ell and Willapa Valley, members of the league during the last cycle, have been dropped down to 1B for most sports. However, the schools join forces in football, baseball and softball, and therefore will remain in 2B for these sports.

Life Christian Academy, a Tacoma-based school that draws on a huge talent pool of boys’ basketball prospects but has a small overall enrollment, was eligible to remain in 2B but opted to “play up” in 1A. The Eagles appear to be on their way to their sixth straight boys’ basketball title in the Pacific League but are not nearly as dominant in other sports.

Forks, whose teams are called the Spartans, drops from the 1A Evergreen League to the 2B Pacific. Average or below in 1A in many sports, the school has a strong boys basketball program that is 12-5, 24th in 1A RPI this year, and so could fill the void left by Life Christian.

At 1B, where Naselle has been classified since the 2014-15 season, creating local leagues can be a challenge in southwest Washington. Many schools don’t compete in all sports. Schools at the classification are few and far between (often very far between) in Western Washington. Naselle in recent years has cobbled together whatever 1B league it can find competitors in for a given sport. The Comets tend to play a heavily non-league schedule of games against 2B Pacific and Central League schools and Oregon schools like Astoria and Warrenton. Naselle has become increasingly dominant in many sports in recent years, so that non-league games are often the Comets’ only real competition in the regular season.

But there could be a new infusion of competition. In basketball and volleyball, the Comets play in the Columbia Valley League, which has consisted of only five teams. The league will lose Columbia Adventist Academy, which is being bumped up to 2B. But Naselle athletic director Brian Macy said Pe Ell and Willapa Valley are likely to join the league for volleyball and basketball. Mossyrock, dropping down from the 2B Central League, is also likely to join. Valley and Mossyrock have consistently strong basketball and volleyball programs.

In football, Naselle has had to take on a very burdensome travel schedule in the last two years playing in the Northwest League as the old Coastal League struggles to field competitive teams. Trips of around four hours one way have been routine. But here, too, help could be on the way. Winlock is dropping down from 2B to 1B for football only. Northwest Christian, which tried to start up football with a combined team with Life Christian last year, played an independent schedule and finished 2-6. This year, they will go it alone as a 1B in football, while remaining at 2B in other sports. Because the 1B classification plays eight-man football, some schools find it easier to field a team at that classification. Northwest Christian is small enough to qualify for 1B in all sports but opted to remain in the 2B Pacific League in other sports. Winlock, with an enrollment of 131 students, got permission to go 1B for football.

Macy said talks are underway to build a football league of Naselle, Northwest Christian, Winlock, Mossyrock, along with Taholah. It is possible the league could add a sixth team, such as Tacoma Baptist, Macy said.

For Ilwaco, one of the biggest benefits of being moved down from 1A to 2B since 2014-15 has come for the football program, a sport where depth can be decisive and Ilwaco tended to lose badly as a 1A but has been competitive at the 2B level. However, even at 2B, there is huge disparity within the region. The Pacific League’s Mountain and River Divisions, consisting of teams that are in the Central League in other sports, completely dominated the state football playoffs. Kalama, Napavine, Adna, and state champion Onalaska easily locked up the final four spots at State.

Teams from Ilwaco’s Coastal Division go into cross-over playoff games with these teams each year and almost never have a chance. Ilwaco forfeited this year’s crossover against Kalama on the grounds that the Fishermen had too many injuries to play. And within the Coastal Division, there is also wide disparity, with Ilwaco usually somewhere in the upper middle of the pack.

Ilwaco athletic director Tim Harrell said there are negotiations under way to avoid these cross-over games and create more competitive schedules.

“We’re still working on a proposal to balance the football schedule. There’s a real big divide in our region between haves and have nots,” Harrell said. Proposals involve dividing schools into competitive and non-competitive divisions, but each proposal runs into resistance from someone. Determining the proper place for Pe Ell-Willapa Valley is a particular challenge. The Titans consistently dominate the Coastal Division but lost badly to Adna and Onalaska in the regular season, then lost the cross-over playoff game to Rainier, which went just 1-3 in the Mountain Division. The Titans contend that they will be less dominant next year due to graduation losses, which include five first-team All-League players plus MVP running back Max Smith.

Basis for ClassificationsNaselle’s student count of 67 placed the Comets comfortably below the threshold of 104 to stay in 1B. Ilwaco’s count of 231 was seven over the threshold for 2B in terms of raw numbers. But the WIAA reformed the classification system this time around to account for the number of students on a free or reduced-price lunch program. This reform was urged by schools in poor areas on the grounds that it is harder for low-income families to afford the years of training that often precedes high school sports, or to join the program at all at pay-to-play schools.

“A school might have large numbers in population terms, but not that many that are going to actually turn out for athletics,” Harrell said.

Ilwaco, with 64% of students on a free or reduced lunch program, got in under the formula. The largest 2B will be Granger, which has 322 students, with 87% on lunch programs.