Shorecrest teams drop from 3A to 2A; to continue play in expanded Wesco 3A/2A division

Shorecrest sports teams will drop one level of competition -- from 3A to 2A -- for the next two years, but will continue to play in an expanded Western Conference 3A/2A South division.

The number of 3A teams in the conference will grow because three schools will drop from 4A to 3A.

Every two years, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association reclassifies schools, placing about one-sixth of its member schools in each classification.

Shorecrest's enrollment in grades 10-12 has dropped from 1,096 two years ago to 943, leaving Shorecrest short of the 991 maximum for 2A schools.

Shorecrest’s director of athletics, Lane Loland, noted Tuesday that two years ago, Shorecrest was the last school above the then-3A-minimum of 1,085 and now will be one of the state’s largest 2A schools.

Meanwhile, Shorewood's enrollment dropped from 1,162 to 1,046, still well above the 3A/2A cutoff.

Shorewood will remain in 3A, along with Everett, Ferndale, Glacier Peak, Marysville Getchell, Marysville-Pilchuck, Meadowdale, Mountlake Terrace, Oak Harbor and Stanwood, with Arlington, Edmonds-Woodway and Lynnwood moving to 3A from 4A.

The newly aligned Western Conference will have these three divisions: 

Wesco 4A—Cascade, Kamiak, Jackson, Lake Stevens, Mariner, Monroe, Mount Vernon and Snohomish;

Wesco 3A North—Arlington, Everett, Marysville Getchell, Marysville-Pilchuck, Oak Harbor and Stanwood;

Wesco 3A/2A South—Edmonds-Woodway, Glacier Peak, Lynnwood, Meadowdale, Mountlake Terrace, Shorewood and Shorecrest.

The 12 Wesco 3A teams will join Ferndale of the Northwest 3A/2A/1A Conference in arranging ways to qualify for Northwest District 3A championship events.

Shorecrest will have to work out a way to qualify for Northwest District 2A championships along with Archbishop Murphy, Cedarcrest, Granite Falls and Lakewood of the Cascade 2A/1A Conference, and Anacortes, Bellingham, Blaine, Burlington-Edison, Lynden, Sedro-Woolley, Sehome and Squallacum of the Northwest 3A/2A/1A Conference.

Loland said that staying in the Wesco 3A/2A South would save travel compared to competing in a 2A league.