SCHSL announces region placements after recent reclassification

Sumter -- Perhaps one of the most anticipated announcements of regions ever associated with the South Carolina High School League’s biannual reclassification have been made public.

With complaints of competitive imbalance with charter schools and private schools able to bring in students from outside of what would be their attendance zones, a multiplier was used for the first time in determining student enrollment numbers. Any student from outside of a school’s attendance zone would count as three students.

That led to the four SCHSL private schools – Christ Church Episcopal School, Southside Christian School, St. Joseph’s Catholic High School and Bishop England Catholic High School – moving up two classifications.

Christ Church was actually part of AAAA in the original reclassification, jumping three spots from Class A. However, it appealed and asked to be moved to AAA, which was accepted by the executive committee. SCS and St. Joseph’s, Greenville County schools like Christ Church, are also in AAA. Each of those schools will now be part of Region 2-AAA after being together in Region 1-Class A for the past few years.

There other region foes will be Carolina Academy, Palmetto and Powdersville.

Bishop England went from AA to AAAA. It will be a member of Region 6 along with Beaufort, Bluffton, Colleton County, Hilton Head Island and May River.

Gray Collegiate Academy, a charter school in West Columbia that led to most of the competitive imbalance talk, moved from AA to AAAA. Gray has been dominant in many sports and had its Region 4-AA foes refuse to play it in football this past season in protest of the competitive imbalance.

Gray is set to play in Region 4-AAAA along with Aiken, Airport, Brookland-Cayce, Gilbert, Midland Valley, North Augusta and South Aiken.

 Oceanside Collegiate Academy, another charter school that beat GCA for the AA football state title this past season, bumped up to AAA. OCA will be in Region 6 along with Battery Creek, Hanahan, North Charleston and Orangeburg-Wilkinson.

 Should a school want to appeal its region placement, it must let the classification executive committee know by 1 p.m. on January 30. That committee will hear the appeals between Feb. 6-8.

A school can also appeal to the league’s executive committee on Feb. 13 and, if necessary, before the appellate panel on Feb. 23.

AAAAA will consist of 54 teams over eight regions. It is anticipated that AAAAA will crown two different state champions in each sport because of the disparity in school sizes. Dorman is the largest with 3,106 while Catawba Ridge is the smallest at 1,319.

AAAA will have 41 schools in six regions, AAA 33 schools in six regions, AA 45 schools in seven regions and Class A 50 schools in six regions.

Eleven of the schools in Class A will not play football along with five in AA and one in AAA. Clinton will be a member of Region 1-AA in football and Region 3-AA in all other sports.

AAAAA

Region 1: Easley, Greenville, Greenwood, Hillcrest, J.L. Mann, Mauldin, T.L. Hanna Woodmont

Region 2: Boiling Springs, Dorman, Eastside, Gaffney, Byrnes, Riverside, Spartanburg, Wade Hampton

Region 3: Catawba Ridge, Clover, Fort Mill, Indian Land, Nation Ford, Northwestern, Rock Hill

Region 4: Chapin, Dutch Fork, Irmo, Lexington, River Bluff, White Knoll

Region 5: Blythewood, Lugoff-Elgin, Ridge View, Spring Valley, Sumter, Westwood, West Florence

Region 6: Carolina Forest, Conway, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Socastee, St. James

Region 7: Berkeley, Cane Bay, Goose Creek, Lucy Beckham, Stratford, Wando

Region 8: Ashley Ridge, Fort Dorchester, James Island, Stall, Summerville, West Ashley

AAAA

Region 1: Emerald, Fountain Inn, Laurens, Southside, Westside, Wren

Region 2: Berea, Blue Ridge, Daniel, Greer, Pickens, Seneca, Travelers Rest

Region 3: A.C. Flora, Camden, Dreher, Lancaster, Richland Northeast, South Pointe, York Region 4: Aiken, Airport, Brookland-Cayce, Gilbert, Gray Collegiate, Midland Valley, North Augusta, South Aiken

Region 5: Crestwood, Darlington, Hartsville, Lakewood, Lower Richland, South Florence, Wilson

Region 6: Beaufort, Bishop England, Bluffton, Colleton County, Hilton Head Island, May River

AAA

Region 1: Belton-Honea Path, Crescent, Pendleton, Walhalla, West-Oak

Region 2: Carolina Academy, Christ Church, Palmetto, Powdersville, Southside Christian, St. Joseph’s

Region 3: Broome, Chapman, x-Greer MC, Mountain View, Union County, Woodruff

Region 4: Fox Creek, Keenan, Newberry, Silver Bluff, Swansea

Region 5: Aynor, Dillon Georgetown, Loris, Marlboro County, Waccamaw

Region 6: Battery Creek, Hanahan, North Charleston, Oceanside Collegiate, Orangeburg-Wilkinson

AA

 Region 1: Blacksburg, x-Brashier MC, Chesnee, x-Greenville Tech, x-High Point, Academy, Landrum, Liberty, Clinton (football only)

Region 2: American Leadership, Batesburg-Leesville, Ninety Six, Pelion, Saluda, Strom Thurmond

Region 3: Chester, Clinton, Columbia, Eau Claire, Fairfield Central, Mid-Carolina

Region 4: Andrew Jackson, Buford, Central, Cheraw, Chesterfield, North Central, x-York Prep

Region 5: Barnwell, x-Bridges Prep, Edisto, Hampton, County, Lake Marion, Whale Branch Region 6: Academic Magnet, Andrews, Burke, Philip Simmons, Timberland, Woodland Region 7: Atlantic Collegiate, East Clarendon, Kingstree, Lake City, Manning, Marion, Mullins

CLASS A

Region 1: Abbeville, Calhoun Falls, Dixie, x-GREEN Upstate, McCormick, x-SC Deaf and Blind, Thornwell, Ware Shoals, Whitmire

Region 2: CA Johnson, x-The Governor’s School, Great Falls, Lamar, Lee Central, Lewisville, McBee, x-Midlands STEM, x-Riverwalk

Region 3: Blackville Hilda, Calhoun County, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, x-Horse Creek Academy, North, Ridge Spring Monetta, Wagener-Salley, Williston-Elko

Region 4: Allendale-Fairfax, Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Denmark-Olar, Hardeeville, x-Polaris Tech, Ridgeland, x-Royal Live Oaks

Region 5: Baptist Hill, Bethune Bowman, Branchville, x-Charleston M&S, Cross, x-Lowcountry Leadership, Military Magnet, x-Palmetto Scholars, Scott’s Branch, St. John’s Region 6: Carvers Bay, Green Sea-Floyds, Hannah-Pamplico, Hemingway, Johnsonville, Lake View, Latta

x-Doesn’t have a football team