Thursday, LHSAA Principals voted to change the structure of outdoor track and field championships. There will no longer be seven classifications. There will be six divisions, divided evenly based on enrollment.
The proposal, listed as III-20, which was submitted by Natchitoches Central principal Micah Coleman, passed with 51% voting in favor of the measure.
Coleman listed the following Pros for the bill;
Creates more equitable postseason competition by aligning all schools into divisions based purely on enrollment.
Ends unnecessary separation between 1A, B, and C school with same enrollment levels
Dedicated track-only districts will improve competitiveness and equity between qualifying events within each division. 21-22 schools per region and 7-8 schools per district.
Simplifying logistics in the postseason while maintaining quality competition.
Better geographic alignment across three regions of the state
Creates a legitimate postseason for all divisions and aligns with the six divisions in cross country in which membership voted in favor.
Aligns all sports into division for consistency.
Historically, Class records will disappear and be replaced with division records. Composite state meet records will remain.
The next proposal, which also applied to the outdoor track and field championship, fell short of the simple majority. The proposal, submitted by Brusly principal Walt Lemoine, received 49% of the vote.
Lemoine's proposal called for athletes to qualify for regionals by competing in qualifying meets sanctioned by the LHSAA office.
In other Louisiana high school running news, the LHSAA Executive Committee's proposal to add a Division VI and move the LHSAA State Cross Country Championships to a two-day event passed with 92% of principals from high schools participating in cross country passed the proposal.