No local changes: Valley to stay in 3A, Winamac to stay in 2A for 4-class sports

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

No area teams will change classes in any sport for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, according to an IHSAA media release of enrollment figures Wednesday.

That means that Tippecanoe Valley will stay in Class 3A for the four-class sports – volleyball, basketball, softball and baseball – and that Winamac will stay in Class 2A .

Valley’s listed enrollment two years ago at the last checkpoint for classifications was 543. The largest Class 2A school’s enrollment was 540.

This time, there is a bigger buffer: Valley’s enrollment is 562, and the largest Class 2A school’s enrollment is 522.

Meanwhile, Winamac’s enrollment dropped from 360 the last cycle to 326 currently. The largest Class 1A school has an enrollment of 318.

Committee meetings will take place based on these enrollment figures to determine new sectional assignments. The IHSAA Executive Committee will approve new sectional assignments May 5.

While no schools in the RTC area were affected, some nearby schools will be, and that could affect the sectional assignments of local teams:

Four-class sports

• Peru and Maconaquah are both dropping from Class 3A to Class 2A.

• South Central (Union Mills) and Clinton Prairie are both moving up from Class 1A to Class 2A.

• Hebron is dropping from Class 2A to Class 1A.

Football

• Eastbrook is moving up from Class 2A to Class 3A. Eastbrook beat Rochester 42-14 last fall in the sectional semifinals and went on to win the sectional title.

• Andrean and Adams Central are moving from Class 2A to Class 3A in football, per the Success Factor.

• Peru, Lakeland, Oak Hill and Knox are dropping from Class 3A to Class 2A.

• LaVille is moving from Class 1A to Class 2A.

• Whitko and Lafayette Central Catholic are dropping from Class 2A to Class 1A.

• Illiana Christian and Faith Christian will be starting football programs in the fall. Illiana Christian will be in Class 3A, and Faith Christian will be in Class 1A.

Girls soccer

• Eastbrook and Eastern (Greentown) are moving from Class 1A to Class 2A.

• Oak Hill, Peru and Fort Wayne Canterbury are dropping from Class 2A to Class 1A.

Boys soccer

• Mishawaka Marian and South Bend Washington are dropping from Class 3A to Class 2A.

• Andrean is moving up from Class 1A to Class 2A.

• Manchester is dropping from Class 2A to Class 1A.

• Southwood will be starting a boys soccer program in the fall, and they will be in Class 1A.

RTC enrollments and classifications

• Tippecanoe Valley (562) – 3A for four-class sports, 3A for football, 2A for girls soccer, 2A for boys soccer

• Rochester (452) – 2A for four-class sports, 2A for football, 1A for girls soccer, 2A for boys soccer

• Winamac (326) – 2A for four-class sports, 1A for football, 1A for boys soccer

• Pioneer (262) – 1A for four-class sports, 1A for football

• Caston (256) – 1A for four-class sports, 1A for football, 1A for boys soccer

• North Miami (255) – 1A for four-class sports, 1A for football, 1A for boys soccer, 1A for girls soccer

• Culver (219) – 1A for four-class sports, 1A for football, 1A for boys soccer, 1A for girls soccer

• Argos (169) – 1A for four-class sports, 1A for boys soccer, 1A for girls soccer