Plains reclassifies at MHSA meetings

by The Daily Inter Lake
| November 26, 2014 2:52 PM

HELENA — Plains will reclassify from Class B to Class C in all sports beginning in 2015-16 after approval from the Montana High School Association executive board on Sunday. At the same meeting, the board approved Class A to realign from four divisions to two.

Each move will be finalized at the board’s January meeting after final comments by the affected schools.

Plains, which competed in most sports in District 7B with Bigfork, Eureka, Thompson Falls and Troy, will join District 10C for basketball, volleyball and track and field. The move down in play will join Plains with closer competition in Arlee, Charlo, Hot Springs, Noxon, St. Regis, Superior and Two Eagle River (Pablo).

The Horsemen, who had to forfeit a football game with St. Ignatius earlier this season because of injuries and low turnout, will compete in the Western division of eight-man football. Plains will remain in Western B-C for wrestling and softball.

The groundwork was also laid for Class A, now at 20 schools with the reclassification of Libby and Anaconda to Class B, to realign to two divisions. The proposal would combine the Northwestern and Southwestern conferences and the Eastern and Central conferences into Eastern and Western divisions. The divisions would hold a combined divisional tournament in volleyball, basketball, wrestling and track and field, remaining in conferences for football.

With its move down in class, Libby/Troy Greenchain wrestling will join the Western B-C conference. Stevensville will join the Northwestern A for tennis.

The board also approved regulations to protect athletes. They passed a provision to limit football players to playing a maximum of eight quarters per week (Sunday-Sunday) or two games in a 48-hour period. The measure is to protect athletes from being overworked in both junior varsity and varsity competition. The board also limited the amount of contact in practice to no more than 90 minutes per week.

A track and field athlete also will be able to compete in only one top 10/8 meet per season.