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Moving on Up: Leopards join North in new-look District 13-4A
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@acnpapers.com
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS – When the UIL’s biennial reclassification and realignment was revealed Thursday morning to a packed house at the Birdville Fine Arts and Athletics Complex, coaches and athletic directors sprang into action.
Impromptu meetings were formed and decisions rippled across the room as new district competitors met and went about the business of filling next season’s schedule.
“It’s like something out of the movie ‘Wall Street,’” said Jim Bob Puckett, Lovejoy athletic director. “Everybody's trying to sell stocks, buy stocks and everything. We had the toughest time getting the list to pop up so everybody was on their phone and we had a couple guys at our table who had it popped up on their phone, so everybody's scrambling knowing that we may have lost some games.
Lovejoy was one of six teams to make the jump from Class 3A to 4A for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons because of school growth. The cutoff point for 4A status this year was a school population between 1,005 and 2,089 students, which represents a 15-student upswing from the 2010-12 realignment.
Starting next year, the Leopards will join Denison, Greenville, McKinney North, Royse City, Sherman, Wylie and Wylie East in District 13-4A. Puckett was pleased with his school's placement, an opinion echoed by many coaches at the announcement.
“It's probably one of the better ones that we could have gotten into for us going into 4A,” he said. “Hopefully it's going to allow us to be a bit more competitive as we move into that 4A realm, so we're pleased.”
North is now McKinney ISD's only 4A team, as McKinney rose in classification to join McKinney Boyd, Plano Senior, Plano East, Plano West and Allen in District 10-5A.
Closer proximity to district competitors played a key role in The Colony head coach Rudy Rangel’s positive outlook on realignment. The Cougars shifted from a district that included schools in Wichita Falls that were 125 miles or more away to a district where none of its opponents are more than 17 miles away.
“We're happy to finally be around teams in our radius,” Rangel said.
The Colony's new home, District 9-4A, consists of Frisco, Frisco Centennial, Frisco Heritage, Frisco Liberty, Frisco Wakeland, Little Elm and Prosper, which moved up to 4A.
That district includes every Frisco ISD high school save for Frisco Lone Star, which will be joined by Argyle, Aubrey, Carrollton Ranchview and Celina in District 10-3A.
“We got put in the district that makes the most sense,” said Mark Howard, Centennial head coach. “Historically, that's now what happens. We're excited; it ought to be a good, competitive district and pretty wide open.”
Geographical location has long been one of the main guidelines the UIL uses to form new districts, but many coaches thought this year was better executed than most.
“I've got no complaints,” said Vance Gibson, Frisco head coach. “It's going to be great for us as far as travel is concerned. I think the three new teams are going to be competitive and you always want to be in a competitive district to get you ready for the playoffs, if you're fortunate enough to get there.”
The introduction of The Colony, Little Elm and Prosper alongside the Frisco ISD schools in 9-4A was paired with the exit of Carrollton R.L. Turner, Carrollton Newman Smith and Carrollton Creekview. Turner will move to Class 5A during the 2012-13 season while Newman Smith and Creekview join District 10-4A alongside Highland Park, Forney, Mesquite Poteet, North Forney, Terrell and West Mesquite.
“It was a good draw,” said Jay Cline, Creekview head coach. “It's going to be competitive. It's good to be in with Highland Park, so our kids can see an established program. I'm glad to be staying with Newman Smith as well, so it's a good deal.”
Another local school with a new destination for the next two seasons is Melissa, which is set for District 12-3A with Anna, Bonham, Nevada Community and Princeton. Occupying District 6-2A will be Sunnyvale, with the Raiders set to face Caddo Mills, Commerce, Farmersville, Howe, Pottsboro and Van Alstyne.
“It’s good (to have realignment released),” said Mike Fecci, North head coach. “We’ve waited all this time and now we know.”
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