New bi-annual football and annual ‘all-other-sports’ classification lists were released by KSHSAA… little has changed
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The bi-annual football classification list for the 2022 and 2023 seasons was released today by the Kansas State High School Activities Association. The annual classification list for all other sports and activities for 2021-22 was also released.
For Wellington, the school will remain in Class 4A, a classification it has held for more than 30 years. There was little movement amongst the other Sumner County schools. Belle Plaine slipped a classification in football from Class 2A to 1A. The new football team “South Sumner” which will merge the Caldwell and South Haven football programs in 2022 will be playing in eight-man division 1.
| Football Classification | Student Count
(9th-11th) |
||
| Current Classification | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | |
| Wellington | 4A | 359 | 345 |
| Belle Plaine | 1A – 11-man | 122 | 124 |
| Conway Springs | 1A – 11-man | 109 | 110 |
| Argonia-Attica | 1A – 8-man DI | 76 | 82 |
| South Sumner (Caldwell-South Haven) | 1A – 8-man DI | 78 | N/A |
| Oxford | 1A – 8-man DI | 79 | 69 |
| General Classifications | Student Count
(9th-12th) |
||
| Current Classification | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | |
| Wellington HS | 4A | 470 | 462 |
| Belle Plaine | 2A | 162 | 165 |
| Conway Springs | 2A | 138 | 147 |
| Argonia | 1A | 46 | 46 |
| Caldwell | 1A | 60 | 73 |
| Oxford | 1A | 103 | 90 |
| South Haven | 1A | 52 | 59 |
The classifications are not only guidelines for post-season play in a specific sport, they act as a barometer on a school’s (and community’s growth for that matter) enrollment compared to other Kansas schools.
The Kansas football list can be found here.
The all other sports list can be found here.
The Analysis
Football
Wellington will not see any change as far as football is concerned for 2022 and 2023 not with itself or its opponents. Class 4A is relatively unchanged except for Great Bend and Lansing going back to 5A and Kansas City Schlagle and St. Thomas Aquinas dropping to 4A. With St. Thomas Aquinas and Bishop Miege in the same classification, it almost guarantees no one else will be winning a 4A title in football over the next three years.
Wellington is the third smallest football school in Class 4A with only Ulysses and Abilene with smaller enrollments. In football, figures are made for grades ninth, 10th and 11th. In 2019, Wellington was the third smallest school in 4A.
Also, the chance of Wellington slipping to 3A is nil. Parsons is the largest 3A school with 311 students. Abilene is the smallest 4A school and it has 330.
Wellington saw an increase from 345 students registered in 2019 to 359 this year.
Belle Plaine, which has been playing Class 2A football, will be joining Conway Springs in Class 1A in 2022. Nevertheless, the drop wasn’t as much about losing students. Belle Plaine only registered two fewer students (124 to 122) from 2019, as it was the restructuring of the classifications in the lower 11-man school ranks.
In 2022, the KSHSAA will have 40 Class 3A teams, 40 2A teams, and 42 1A teams. This year Kansas has 48 – 3A, 48 – 2A, and 28 – 1A.
Southern Sumner County will be the newest local football team as a result of merging South Haven and Caldwell in 2022. That puts the new team smack dab in the middle of Class 1A 8-man Div. 1. This year both Caldwell and South Haven have been playing 8-man Div. II separately.
Oxford will also remain in 8-man Div. 1 with an increase to 79 students.
———
General classification
In the annual “all other sports” list everything is basically the same as last year.
Enrollments in all seven schools for ninth through 12th grade had little fluctuation from the year before, including Wellington that saw a nominal increase from 462 to 470 students.
Wellington will remain in 4A. Belle Plaine and Conway Springs will remain in 2A. And the other four schools of Argonia, Caldwell, Oxford and South Haven will be in Class 1A.
