So what does the move back to five classes and shifting of the enrollment numbers do for the soccer schools in NM:
First the new classes. Basically cut and pasting @ElMuchachos list and moving schools according to cut off numbers.
5A 1300+
Hobbs 2594
Atrisco 2480
Rio Rancho 2465
Cleveland 2380
Clovis 2240
Volcano Vista 2184
Cibola 1902
Eldorado 1851
Albuquerque 1816
Sandia 1808
La Cueva 1799
Manzano 1670
Las Cruces 1659
Carlsbad 1624
Rio Grande 1555
Onate 1544
Santa Fe 1536
Gadsden 1526
West Mesa 1519
Mayfield 1492
Centennial 1490
Piedra Vista 1443
Capital 1434
Deming 1429
Alamogordo 1412
Farmington 1412
Highland 1398
Roswell 1352
I think the question here is how will the newly "promoted" former "5A" teams gonna adjust? Deming is always that bubble school and will now have to fight through the Cruces schools and Gadsden. Where will Alamo be districted? Cruces area or back east to balance the number of teams??
It will be interesting to see how Capital and Farmington fare? They were pretty near top tier "5A" programs, can they raise their game to match the public powerhouse in La Cueva & Atrisco and even Sandia if they meet in playoff situations.
I see Roswell having the smoothest transition. They have regularly beaten Clovis, Hobbs, and Carlsbad so their district wont be too much of a drastic change. But come playoffs and seeding can they be prepared to face a different style of game if they get matched with the La Cueva's, Albuquerque's, etc.
The positive here is the schools above move into a true open classification with set boundaries and no private schools.
4A (550-1299)
Los Lunas 1283
Santa Teresa 1246
Del Norte 1178
Miyamura 1171
Valley 1166
Goddard 1165
Artesia 1117
Belen 1066
Chaparral 1041
Valencia 1028
Los Alamos 996
Espanola 984
Aztec 964
Gallup 934
Lovington 890
Grants 874
Bloomfield 832
Portales 806
Kirtland Central 795
Bernalillo 784
St. Pius 780 (estimate)
Taos 770
Moriarty 769
Silver 701
Academy 660 (estimate)
Shiprock 647
Pojoaque 629
Ruidoso 565
No seismic shifts here, except of course if you are from Silver & Ruidoso. I dont think it will be too hard on Taos, they normally are near the top of A-3A, so small jump for them.
I dont see where Sandia Prep or Bosque falls on these lists....but for the general "4A" landscape its not gonna change much the question season after season will be which private school takes home the trophy. The districts will be drawn with Academy and SPX in two completely different districts even while they reside just 15-20mins apart. There go two of the district titles automatically, along with two top four seeds. If a Sandia Prep (with multiplier) slides in above the 550 cut off, make that a possible third top four spot.
A-3A (549 & Below....if applicable)
Hope 484 (Estimate)
Socorro 468
West Las Vegas 452
LV Robertson 440
Hatch 392
St, Mikes 390
Hot Springs 365
Raton 350
Cobre 348
Thoreau 347
Dulce 286
Laguna Acoma 280
Dexter 278
Zuni 278
Tularosa 273
Tohatchi 268
Crownpoint 263
Tucumcari 246
Cuba 232
Newcombe 223
Estancia 214
Eunice 202
Loving 191
Santa Rosa 176
Pecos 173
Texico 170
McCurdy 161
Capitan 146
Navajo Pine 146
Mora 141
Hagerman 138
Clayton 129
Jemez Valley 128
Lordsburg 127
Cloudcroft 127
Questa 124
Jal 122
Magdalena 117
Logan 116
Escalante 116
Peñasco 110
Tatum 101
This class is odd to me. I know about 3/4's of these teams dont have soccer as a sport, so who is going to compete here? OK...add Sandia Prep and Bosque, Waldorf School, possible Monte del Sol (if they get there athletics funding sorted out).
OVERALL:
If they cant field a solid number of schools for A-3A....do they just go A-4A?? That seems highly unlikely, but I cant find the teams to fill the 3A class. Roswell looks best suited to compete ASAP in their move. Taos a close 2nd. Some teams will take awhile to adjust (Deming, Silver).
It will be interesting to see how the districting shakes out and how the lines are drawn. There are no major changes that would overly freak everyone out.
Thoughts???
