Argos back down in 1A for boys soccer

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Argos’ run of 10 straight boys sectional titles coincided with their 10-year stay in Class 1A.

Their sectional run ended with a loss in penalty kicks to Fort Wayne Canterbury in a 2A sectional semifinal last October.

That stay in Class 2A will be brief as they are headed back down to Class 1A, per the IHSAA release of new sports realignments from April 11.

The IHSAA said in a press release that a team that had already been elevated due to the Success Factor needed to accumulate one point – in other words, win a sectional – to stay in their new class.

Since Argos failed to do that, they will move back down. Fort Wayne Canterbury, who went on to win that sectional, will stay in Class 2A despite having an enrollment of a 1A school.

Argos ascended to Class 2A due to the Success Factor after their performances in the 2019 and 2020 state tournaments. Argos won the 1A state title with a 2-1 win over Indianapolis Lutheran in the 2019 title game.

When they won a 2020 regional title, they were assured of being in Class 2A. That season ended with a loss to Providence in the state title game.

When the IHSAA declined to release enrollment figures following the 2020-21 school year due to effects of the pandemic on school enrollment, programs like Argos boys soccer were in limbo.

Their fate was determined last week, and coach Todd VanDerWeele confirmed the news with RTC Monday.

Caston, Culver, North Miami and Winamac were in their Class 1A sectional back in 2020, and they will also be in 1A this fall.

Sectional alignments will be announced for all fall and winter sports on May 3. Sport classifications and sectional alignments for softball and baseball will be announced in August.