M-CHS proposes drop to Class 3A

With the Colorado High School Activities Association currently reclassifying and organizing leagues for the 2016-2018 cycle, Montezuma-Cortez High School’s athletic programs may be facing changes.

M-CHS programs are currently spread across three classes: The football team competes in Class 2A, and boys soccer and girls basketball play at the 3A level, while the remaining programs are in Class 4A.

However, as CHSAA begins to reclassify according to enrollment numbers from fall 2015, M-CHS may drop down to Class 3A in almost every sport.

M-CHS currently has 632 enrolled students.

With an enrollment between 249-626 necessary to be deemed Class 3A, the school would fall into Class 4A in most sports.

However, M-CHS enrollment numbers include students in the adult education program, who are not eligible to participate in high school athletics, so principal Dr. Jason Wayman and activities director Stacey Hall have petitioned CHSAA to drop to Class 3A.

“Where we’re at right now is on the bubble,” Hall said during Thursday’s accountability meeting. “It’s going to depend on how hard and how much they’ll listen when we petition.”

If the proposal is accepted, M-CHS would fall into Class 3A for all sports except football, where it would remain in 2A, and would compete in the West Slope South League against Alamosa, Bayfield, Pagosa Springs, Delta and Gunnison.

However, there is no Class 3A for boys tennis or girls swimming, and most of the schools in the proposed league do not offer boys tennis, girls swimming or softball.

Which poses a problem.

“We’re just throwing out all the data and asking, ‘Where are we going to play?”’ Wayman said. “What league do they put us in when we’re (offering) tennis?”

The most likely outcome would be that boys tennis, girls swimming and softball programs would be placed into leagues that require much more travel.

“If we have to move to those divisions, travel increases,” Wayman said. “Then we’re losing a lot of our budgets trying to get teams to these competitions.”

“I’m not making any proposals,” Wayman said when the thought of cutting programs arose. “I’m just saying that the Intermountain League doesn’t host a lot of these (sports). So we’re going to be pumped into different leagues which are farther away than these schools.”

There are no proposals for any program to be cut. But Wayman and Hall said that they want to keep an open discussion and provide participation numbers of every sport since 2011.

Even if cuts were to become a proposed option, it’s still early.

Hall just proposed for M-CHS to be dropped to Class 3A on Friday, and CHSAA may not rule on M-CHS’ classification until January.

Wayman and Hall will continue the discussion on athletic classifications and cutbacks during the December accountability meeting.