IHSAA freezes enrollment numbers for year

Success Factor criteria will be applied for 2021-22 sectional groupings

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The IHSAA Executive Committee approved retaining member school enrollment figures from the current classification cycle.

The decision came after a meeting Friday. The vote was 18-1 to extend the classification cycle by one year.

The IHSAA said in a statement that the enrollment figures from the Indiana Department of Education “showed significant fluctuation in the case of many schools likely affected by the pandemic and raising questions about their true representation.”

The vote means that all schools will remain in their respective current classifications for one more year except those who meet Success Factor criteria.

Locally, that means that Argos boys soccer and Pioneer girls basketball will both move from Class 1A to Class 2A for the 2021-22 school year.

The vote essentially adds a third year to the classification cycle. The IHSAA will resume reclassification of team sports using enrollment figures from the 2021-22 school year for the 2022-24 cycle. Success Factor points from the 2020-21 and 2021-22 tournament results will be applied toward the next two-year cycle.

The state tournaments in boys basketball, softball and baseball were canceled in 2019-20, so no teams in those sports will move up. Schools already playing up a class in those sports could remain in their same classification or revert to their enrollment class once point totals are applied.

Basketball

IBCA honors Weaver: The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association has named Plainfield’s Andy Weaver one of its six Bob King Coaches of the Year.

Weaver guided Plainfield to a 24-3 record and its first sectional title since 1999.

Weaver was the coach at PIoneer from 1994-97.

The other coaches recognized included Homestead’s Chris Johnson, South Bend Adams’ Chad Johnston, Carmel’s Ryan Osborn, Sullivan’s Jeff Moore and Barr-Reeve’s Josh Thompson.

Osborn, a 1999 Logansport grad, will also coach the Indiana All-Stars this year.

The IHSAA also recognized six girls coaches: Carroll (Fort Wayne)’s Mark Redding, Crown Point’s Chris Seibert, Noblesville’s Donna Buckley, Brownsburg’s Debbie Smiley, Linton-Stockton’s Jared Rehmel and Silver Creek’s Scott Schoen.

Boys basketball

IndyStar Indiana Boys Junior All-Stars (college choice in parentheses)

Tayshawn Comer, Indianapolis Cathedral, 6-1, G (undecided)

Tae Davis, Warren Central, 6-7, F (Louisville)

C.J. Gunn, Lawrence North, 6-3, G (Indiana)

Jalen Jackson, Carroll (Fort Wayne), 6-1, G (undecided)

Will Lovings-Watts, Jeffersonville, 6-4, F (undecided)

Fletcher Loyer, Homestead, 6-4, G (Purdue)

Branden Northern, Silver Creek, 6-0, G (undecided)

Braden Smith, Westfield, 6-1, G (undecided)

Peter Suder, Carmel, 6-5, F (undecided)

Leland Walker, North Central (Indianapolis), 5-11, G (undecided)