The Student News Site of Marshfield High School

The Marshfield Times

The Student News Site of Marshfield High School

The Marshfield Times

The Student News Site of Marshfield High School

The Marshfield Times

Marshfield considers move from 5A to 4A

By Shaylen Crook | Reporter
Plummeting enrollment numbers are forcing Marshfield to consider moving from the 5A OSAA classification to 4A. At 841 students for the 2011-2012 school year, Marshfield is below the 5A classification requirement of 870-1479 students.

According to Athletic Director Bryan Trendell, if Marshfield’s enrollment does not look like it will rise in the next few years, the school will petition to move down a division.

“It’s not a done deal,” Trendell said. “We have to look at lower classes’ enrollment.”

Marshfield is currently a member of the Midwestern League with five other schools, all located in the Eugene/Springfield area: Churchill, Marist, North Eugene, Springfield and Willamette. The hybrid league also includes teams from Sheldon, South Eugene and Thurston. Were Marshfield to move down to 4A, it would be a part of the Far West League. That league includes Brookings-Harbor, Douglas, North Bend, Siuslaw, South Umpqua and Sutherlin.

“The Far West League has six schools; we would make it seven,” Trendell said.

According to the OSAA rules and regulations handbook, a school may petition the Executive Board for reclassification after falling below the enrollment limit. As Marshfield is below the lower limit, they may petition down soon.

Trendell said a positive aspect of moving to 4A would be the shortened travel times, which would save the school money. The longest trip would be to Sutherlin, about two hours away.

“It will certainly help the budgets,” Trendell said.

Junior Peyton Babb, who was a student at 1A Powers High School prior to Marshfield, said she had not noticed much change in athletics after the transfer.

“I don’t see too much of a difference,” Babb said. “The competition is tougher at higher levels.”

However, she believes teams would have a better chance to go to higher levels of competition were Marshfield to move down.

“I think more teams would have a better chance of going to state,” Babb said.

Football and basketball coach Josh Line agrees.

“We would be much more competitive,” Line said.

Line said students are participating less in sports, which hurts the team numbers, and the other 5A teams are much larger in comparison.

“It’s hard to compete when you don’t have the population to compete,” Line said.

By moving down a classification, Marshfield would have about the same team numbers as other 4A teams would.

Sophomore Alex Brown said he would not mind the change.

“I feel like just because we are smaller doesn’t mean we are not going to have competition,” Brown said.

Brown feels that the reclassification would not affect students and their desire to play sports or will to complete.

“Whatever we are next year, we will make the best of it,” Brown said.

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Marshfield considers move from 5A to 4A