Division shakeup to impact handful of county schools
| Friday, Jan 29 2010 11:37 PM
Last Updated Friday, Jan 29 2010 11:37 PM
Kern County teams' playoff divisions
Many Central Section teams will move up or down a playoff division for the next two school years based on competitive history. Following is a list of the local movers in each sport, with their new division in parentheses. Wrestling and track and field and divisions stay the same throughout the section.
FALL SPORTS
Football
Moving up: Tehachapi (II), Bakersfield Christian (IV).
Moving down: East (III), Kennedy (IV).
Volleyball
Up: Frontier (I), Garces (I), Tehachapi (II).
Down: West (III).
Boys cross country
Up: McFarland (III)
Down: None.
Girls cross country
None
Girls tennis
Up: Garces (I), Tehachapi (II), Bakersfield Christian (IV).
Down: West (III), South (IV), Chavez (IV), Delano (IV), Golden Valley (IV), Shafter (V).
Girls golf
Up: Frontier (I).
Down: None.
Boys and girls water polo
None
WINTER SPORTS
Boys basketball
Up: Liberty (I).
Down: None
Girls basketball
Up: Liberty (I).
Down: West (III).
Boys soccer
Up: West (I), Golden Valley (II), Wasco (III).
Down: North (III), Bakersfield Christian (VI).
Girls soccer
Up: Bakersfield Christian (IV).
Down: East (III), West (III), Foothill (IV), South (IV), Chavez (IV), Delano (IV), Shafter (V), Arvin (V).
SPRING SPORTS
Baseball
Up: North (I), Bakersfield Christian (IV).
Down: Shafter (V).
Softball
Up: Tehachapi (II), Wasco (III)
Down: West (III), Delano (IV), Foothill (IV), Highland (IV), South (IV), Shafter (V), Arvin (V).
Boys tennis
Up: Garces (I), Tehachapi (II), Bakersfield Christian (IV).
Down: North (III), Foothill (IV), South (IV), Chavez (IV), Golden Valley (IV).
Boys golf
Up: Frontier (I).
Down: West (II).
For a handful of Kern County schools, the competition level amps up next fall.
For others, a welcome respite is in order.
When the Central Section's board of managers voted Wednesday to approve a new playoff format for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years, it meant that teams will be judged on a success-based points system that determines what playoff division they'll qualify for in each sport.
The initial breakdown shows that Tehachapi will move from Division III to Division II in five sports: football, volleyball, girls and boys tennis and softball. Bakersfield Christian goes from V to IV in football, boys and girls tennis, baseball and girls soccer. The Eagles are already a D-IV team in boys and girls basketball and volleyball.
Garces is moving up to Division I in volleyball and boys and girls tennis.
Other notable shifts include North baseball up to Division I, Liberty boys and girls basketball to Division I, McFarland boys cross country up to Division III, East football down to Division III, Frontier up to Division I in volleyball and girls golf and Golden Valley boys soccer up to Division II.
Each team can move just one division at a time, and schools with an enrollment larger than 1,250 cannot move below Division III in state-championship sports per CIF regulations. Schools larger than 500 cannot move below Division IV.
Teams have until Feb. 15 to appeal their placement.
