I am not sure who it was, but I am hoping he or she turned the lights off as they left the building, as the league formally known as the 3A has gone by the wayside. Schools in northern Nevada will still probably consider themselves a 3A school but starting next fall, you and me both will have to get used to saying Division 1-A.
When the NIAA decided to go through with its next round of realignment, schools in southern Nevada (the 4A schools, with enrollments of 2,000 to 3,000 students) did not want to be called a 3A school. I guess it is some kind of slap in the face, but my suggestion is get over it, go play and improve your programs.
So the NIAA decided to come up with four divisions, beginning with the 4A going to Division I. Well you would think it would follow with Division II and so on. The 2A and 1A got right with them, turning into Division III and IV, respectively. But as I stated earlier, we will have a Division 1-A not II. Either we cannot count on our five fingers or a handful of Las Vegas schools, who complain about traveling across town to play a game, have some kind of ego problem that will never get fixed.
Even though the north will not change next year, the landscape of the new Division I-A will be much different come state tournament time. A southern league that had just three schools increases to 13 with two divisions with the addition of nine Las Vegas schools and Boulder City, Moapa Valley, Virgin Valley and Pahrump Valley.
Lowry won nine academic state championships and three team athletic championships to go along with two runner-up finishes this school year. The Buckaroos will still have no trouble competing in the north, but it will be interesting when it comes down to the state championships. The pod system is still in place for the north this upcoming season, but from what I understand that will go by the wayside for the 2013-14 school year. Lowry will still play Battle Mountain, West Wendover and White Pine but those contests will not count in the league standings, despite being in the same league. The Division I-A will play each other this season, with those results counting toward the standings. Also different is now eight teams in a majority of the sports will go to the playoffs instead of six. Anyone want to give the Lowry girls basketball team (last two years) or the softball team (2011) a do over on that scenario?
In the past, six football teams from the north qualified for the playoffs but that changes to four this fall. Lowry enjoyed its best season since 1992, losing to Moapa Valley in the state semifinals. Despite the realignment, the Pirates still may be the best team in the south. The north will be no cakewalk as well, with the likes of Truckee, Churchill County, Elko and Spring Creek. Truckee hasn't lost a game in three years.
The south will bring in schools such as Cheyenne, Clark, Mojave, Western, Chaparral, Desert Pines, Sunrise Mountain and Vo-Tech. There is a reason those schools are now Division 1-A, because they were at the bottom of a point system developed by the 4A in Clark County.
There are some sports where Lowry will be at a disadvantage, notably track and field, where Western won a 4A championship a few years back. A sport where the Buckaroos may get some aid is in swimming. Lowry has the longest trip week in and week out to compete in swimming. That will not change with the realignment, but the schools it competes against will. No longer will the Buckaroos have to swim against Carson, Reed, Reno, Douglas or Galena to get into the state tournament. The Division I-A will have the likes of Churchill County, South Tahoe, Truckee, Fernley, Sage Ridge, Incline and Sparks.
The landscape of basketball changes as well with the addition of the Las Vegas schools. The Lowry boys during their state championship run this year faced two Vegas schools in Basic and Desert Oasis. Both schools are staying in Division I and even though Lowry lost both of those games, it probably should have won both. On the girls side, despite the addition of the southern schools, I still believe the north will have the advantage with the game they play.
It may get a little tougher for the Lowry wrestling team, but with the way that squad works year in and year out it's hard to see a little realignment stopping them. Of course the group that graduated this year will be tough to replace, but you had a one-in-a-million squad this season. It will be interesting to see if the Buckaroos can win a fifth straight title.
The Lowry boys golf team brings everyone back and about the only thing to stop them besides themselves from winning three championships in four years may be Faith Lutheran or Pahrump Valley. You can look at the softball team and even though they lose nine players from a state runner-up squad, the Lady Bucks have an upcoming JV crew that has gone 43-2-2 in the last two years, including 27-0 this season.
It is different in high school than it is in the junior high, but if the upcoming volleyball players can stick together, they will be quite a team in two to three years. Yes, some may move on to soccer and cross country and there is no problem with that at all. As a player, you need to play the sport you love.
All I know is, who cares if it is 3A, Division I-A, we are from Las Vegas or Reno and you're not. The only thing that will have to happen is that the NIAA redesigns its trophies. It will be the same league for the Buckaroos in the north with some changes in the south.
Just think, 66 days until the first day of the first official games to the 2012-13 season.
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