Conference shake-up
July 31, 2008
By Ryan Piersol
Four-team swap gives KingCo 3A new look for sports year
Darren Brown went to sleep one night in January with his girls soccer team considered a league contender and awoke the next morning to find them a favorite.
No move-ins, No brilliant new formation. No magic beans. Just the result of a new alignment in KingCo 3A.
Brown’s soccer team is just one of many teams at Mount Si that will face entirely new circumstances as they battle for conference supremacy in the upcoming sports year, thanks to the league’s bi-yearly realignment.
“It’s changed things a lot. We definitely lost some firepower and it’s going to look a lot different,” said Brown, who also coaches the Mount Si boys soccer team. “People around the state have been saying that Bellevue and us are the favorites to win KingCo 3A when, before, we were considered a darkhorse.”
Departing KingCo 3A for KingCo 4A are Issaquah, Skyline and Newport in the team sports. Coming down to join 3A from 4A is Juanita. That leaves in KingCo 3A: Mount Si, Juanita, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Interlake, Sammamish and Liberty.
Since 3A is losing three and only gaining one, that also means the league will be a much smaller seven teams this year.
“Without those three, the three who finished above us last year, it’s really going to make a difference,” Mount Si softball coach Larry White said. “It opens the door for some of the other teams like Interlake, who have been on the fringe for a while. It’s going to be interesting.”
The changes could affect softball more than anything. Issaquah, Newport and Skyline were the top three teams in KingCo 3A last season.
Issaquah has traditionally been the strongest in baseball and softball, with 10 state trips in baseball since 1994 and nine in softball since 1995. The Eagles also have won three of the last four girls soccer titles in 3A, with one runner-up sandwiched in between.
Newport has a monster baseball program with 16 state trips and five championships. Its softball program also has 16 state berths to go along with two titles.
Skyline has quickly turned into one of the top football schools in Washington with 3A state championships in 2000 and 2007 and a 4A crown in 2005. The Spartan football team is currently ranked in at least one national poll.
Worried that losing those three will weaken the schedule enough to have a deceiving effect on the strength of his team, White plans to load up his non-conference softball schedule.
Fortunately, he’ll have more room to do so, since the number of league games Mount Si plays will be smaller.
“I’m not going to shy away. We’re still going to try to schedule one with Newport, Skyline and Issaquah, all three,” he said. “You have to play those kinds of teams, or you’re not going to get any better. So, we’re going to make sure we continue to play good teams, even if we have to play them in the non-league.”
There is, however, another adverse result of the changes Mount Si coaches will not get around. Since the league has gotten smaller, the state has also shortened the number of state allocations KingCo 3A will receive.
Brown noted that, while KingCo 3A received 2.5 two years ago and 2 just last season, it will only receive one state allocation this year.
Then there’s the issue of rivalries. Mount Si has put together some heated – and much-anticipated – matchups with some of the teams in the league that are leaving. There’s no guarantee the Wildcats will see them now.
“Us and Skyline and us and Issaquah have developed pretty heavy rivalries in soccer, but now we won’t play those guys,” Brown said. “That’s going to be different.”
The alignment will be different for individual sports. In those, Mount Si will play with Redmond, Skyline, Eastlake and Liberty in the East Division of the Crest League.
Regardless, Brown thinks teams in both KingCo 4A and 3A shouldn’t get too comfortable with the new alignments. They’ll change again in two years and, since Mount Si is growing all the time, the Wildcats could see an even more drastic change then.
“I think it will stay this way for just two years,” Brown said. “A seven-team conference is too small, and we’re growing ourselves. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mount Si got bumped up pretty soon and the conference changes again.”
KingCo 2008
Team Sports
4A Crown Division
Woodinville
Lake Washington
Inglemoor
Bothell
Ballard
Roosevelt
4A Crest Division
Redmond
Skyline
Eastlake
Garfield
Newport
Issaquah
3A Division
Juanita
Bellevue
Mercer Island
Interlake
Mount Si
Sammamish
Liberty
Individual Sports
Crown League
North Division
Woodinville
Juanita
Lake Washington
Inglemoor
Bothell
West Division
Bellevue
Ballard
Roosevelt
Mercer Island
Crest League
East Division
Redmond
Skyline
Eastlake
Mount Si
Liberty
South Division
Garfield
Newport
Issaquah
Interlake
Sammamish
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