Will Coupeville High School be a very small 1A school or a big 2B school during Gabe Wynn’s sophomore and junior seasons? (John Fisken photo)
Alright. Which underclassman at Coupeville High School is willing to lose an arm or a leg?
Seriously. That’s the difference right now between the Wolves being the smallest 1A school in Washington state or the largest 2B school — .10 of a student.
We sit 18 days away from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association finalizing classification numbers for 2014-2016, and the numbers released on their web site Wednesday show Coupeville with 225 students (counting freshman to juniors).
The cutoff for 2B is 224.9.
So, if the enrollment numbers are stamped and certified Jan. 27, Coupeville will be tied with Columbia (Burbank) as the smallest of 64 schools in the 1A division (which runs from 225-471.9).
They would also remain in the Cascade Conference, a 1A/2A league where the next smallest school, King’s, has 368 students, and the biggest, Cedarcrest, has 691.
You can add Coupeville and King’s student body together and still be almost 100 students short of the Red Wolves.
Current numbers for the Cascade Conference:
Cedarcrest — 691
Lakewood — 554
Granite Falls — 491
Sultan — 428
South Whidbey — 398
Archbishop Thomas Murphy — 369
King’s 368
Coupeville — 225
Cedarcrest, Lakewood and Granite Falls are 2A and ATM opts up (a school can play above its enrollment, but not below), while Sultan will drop to 1A, joining South Whidbey, King’s and Coupeville.
Now, of course, King’s and ATM are private schools, can offer scholarships to student athletes from outside their school districts and, surprise, are generally the most successful of the Cascade Conference teams at producing sports champions.
I am shocked by that. Shocked I say.
If CHS officials choose to appeal, however, they could join Warden (224) as the largest of what would than be 60 schools at the 2B level.
It would also mean a move out of the Cascade Conference, with the most logical landing spot being their old stomping grounds in the Northwest League. If, and it’s a big if, that league is open to such a move.
That league currently has one 1A school (Friday Harbor), four 2B schools (La Conner, Darrington, Concrete, Orcas Island) and three 1B schools (Mount Vernon Christian, Shoreline Christian, Cascade Park Christian-MTL).
Might I be the first to propose a straight-up swap?
If Friday Harbor is still 1A — and their numbers seem to be missing from the WIAA site, or I’m blind — move them into the Cascade Conference, and send Coupeville back to the Northwest League.
Bam. Done. Both leagues are still eight teams, and, in the case of the Wolves, they get a shot in the arm.
Numbers do not tell the whole story. Schools with smaller student bodies can, and do, beat big schools. La Conner has 164 students and is the gold standard for athletic excellence.
Coupeville, which has struggled mightily as the smallest school, might not immediately become a powerhouse if they’re the largest.
But, it would give them a fighting chance.
In a sport like football, when the big schools can roll 60-70 players off the bus — all weight-room-carved juniors and seniors (if there’s a freshman, you know he’s a beast) and Coupeville has to call on every 110-pound ninth grader they have to barely top 30 players, something is askew.
The answer, to me at least (and I am usually short on facts and quick on half-cocked opinions) is to move back down, if at all possible.
Let’s go back to 2B and give the Wolf athletes a more level playing field.
WIAA numbers (as of Jan. 8) — http://www.wiaa.com/subcontent.aspx?SecID=1039
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