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Regional Alignment has been set for the next two years.
After several months of planning,committee meetings, and appeal hearing, the Georgia High School Association appears to have completed the process of setting the region alignment for the next two years.
The GHSA held the final round of appeals last Wednesday and then set the new region, which go into effect for the 2022-23 academic year.
During this year's reclassification meeting, the GHSA decided to combine Class A Private and Public and apply the 3.0 multiplier on all schools in Class A. The decision brought about changes in Class A through Class AAA.
White County is back in 7-AAA, but the makeup of the region has changed. The Warriors, along with Dawson County, Gilmer County, Lumpkin County, and West Hall are returning to the region, with Pickens County and Wesleyan making up the final teams in the 7-team region.
“I'm real happy with the region,” WCHS athletic director Lloyd Collins said. “I think we can compete for a region championship in most, if not all, of the sports. We're excited about it.”
Pickens County drops down from Class AAAA. White County has played Pickens on the football field for the past five years, but Pickens hasn't been a regular opponent over the past
few years for many of the WCHS teams.
Due to the multiplier, Wesleyan is making the jump to Class AAA from Class A Private. The school, which is located in Norcross, is one of seven private schools to move up two classes next year. Five of the school are located in South Georgia, while Hebron Christian, which is located in Dacula, will be in Region 8-AAA along with Hart County, Stephens County, Franklin County, Monroe Area, and Oconee County.
Wesleyan has a solid athletic program and has garnered multiple state titles in cross country, soccer, track and field, and girl's basketball since 2015. White County recently spent several years in a region with Marist and Blessed Trinity, so Collins said having a private school in the new region won't be unfamiliar ground.
“Wesleyan is really good in some sports, but I don't think it will be like having Marist and Blessed Trinity in the region. We feel like we can be competitive with Wesleyan, and they fit in well with our region.”
With the regions changing next year, two of the Hall County schools currently in Region 7-AAA will be moving up to 8-AAAA. North Hall and Cherokee Bluff are set to join an 11-team region that also includes three other Hall County schools – Chestatee, East Hall, and Johnson. The reminder of the region consists of Cedar Shoals, East Forsyth, Madison County, North Oconee, Walnut Grove, and Seckinger, a new school in Gwinnett County.