From the Sidelines
The Bellevue sports blog
Why did Sammamish opt-up to 3A?
January 29th, 2010 at Fri, 29th, 2010 at 2:15 pm by Joel WillitsI’ve had numerous emails, phone calls and questions at events from folks wondering why Sammamish decided to opt-up to 3A, when its numbers would have made it a 2A school for the next two years. Many people have pointed out the success (and some say, school pride) that Interlake has found while playing in Class 2A the past two years, including two-straight trips to the football state playoffs.
Sammamish athletic director Pat McCarthy cleared things up today, explaining just why the Totems elected to opt-up to 3A. Mostly, it has to do with the uncertainty regarding playoff opportunities for the Totems.
Interlake, McCarthy said, is the only 2A school currently in District 2. If the Totems were to become a 2A school, playoff berths would have to be worked out with District 3 – which is currently in the process of adding multiple new teams. That uncertainty is part of the reason Sammamish decided to opt-up.
“We’re talking about a question of, if we make the playoffs, what is that going to look like?,” McCarthy said. “When you ask that question, there is no answer yet. We elected to, instead of not knowing what’s going to happen, not knowing what it’s going to look like, we elected to not go that way.”
McCarthy noted that it was a “really difficult decision” but said the Totems are happy to be in 3A.
“We at Sammamish have always been a 3A school,” McCarthy said. “We’ve always wanted to be a 3A school and that is where we have decided we fit best.”
Joel Willits I'm the sports writer at the Bellevue Reporter newspaper. On this blog you'll find extra bits and pieces to stories I've written, observations on events in our area, and a behind the scenes look at what it takes to bring a story together. I'll field questions here, and maybe even ask a few too. I'm a 2007 graduate of the journalism program at Eastern Washington University. Prior to joining the Reporter, I worked at USA Hockey Magazine and did radio work with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox AAA baseball team. When I'm not busy covering the happenings in Bellevue, I enjoy playing hockey, watching sports and spending time with my family. You can also follow me on Twitter or you can send me an email.
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