Salinas
– The ballots are in: Salinas-area high schools Alisal and
Alvarez will join the Tri-County Athletic League in the fall of
2006.
Salinas – The ballots are in: Salinas-area high schools Alisal and Alvarez will join the Tri-County Athletic League in the fall of 2006.
Alisal and Alvarez will take the place of Live Oak and Sobrato when the two Morgan Hill high schools depart the TCAL for the Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL) in the 2006–07 school year.
At Thursday’s Southern Conference meeting at Palma High School, a majority of school officials chose to pass the conference realignment proposal put forth by the Mission Trail (MTAL) and Santa Cruz Coast (SCCAL) athletic leagues over two other realignment proposals. The proposal received 18 of 34 possible votes – the exact amount it needed to pass.
The two other proposals on the ballot, one submitted by the Central Coast Section-appointed realignment committee and another submitted by Pajaro Valley and Watsonville high schools were also on the ballot. The committee’s proposal received nine votes and the Pajaro Valley/Watsonville proposal received seven.
“This was a good meeting because (committee chair) Duane Morgan did a good job of getting out all the material to everybody,” said CCS commissioner Lazenby-Blaser. “This is exactly how the process is supposed to work.”
With regards to the TCAL, which of the three proposals passed really didn’t matter. The league was structured the same way in all three plans.
Though he was in favor of the Pajaro Valley/Watsonville proposal, which proposed a Monterey Bay Coast Athletic League (MBCAL) power structure of sorts with North and South divisions in addition to a new TCAL and MTAL, Gilroy athletic director Jack Daley was pleased with the outcome.
“It doesn’t really impact us, but it seems to make most people happy,” Daley said after the meeting. “I think it’s a good thing and it was a democratic process.”
The new TCAL will include Alisal, Alvarez, Gilroy, Hollister, Salinas, North Salinas, Notre Dame and Palma.
The MTAL/SCCAL proposal must now be approved by the CCS executive committee when it meets April 12. If approved, which is likely to happen, that conference structure will be used for the ’06-’07 season. However, an appeal can be made during the 20-day period following the approval, said CCS commissioner Nancy Lazenby-Blaser.
The MTAL/SCCAL proposal differed from the realignment committee’s proposal in a few ways. The MTAL/SCCAL realignment has Aptos High School staying in the SCCAL, but the realignment committee proposal had Aptos moving to the Monterey Bay League (MBL). The MTAL/SCCAL proposal also has Monte Vista Christian staying in the MBL, but the realignment committee had the school competing in the SCCAL. The other difference involved Santa Catalina, an all-girls school, which under the MTAL/SCCAL proposal, will continue to compete in the MTAL. The realignment committee proposal had Santa Catalina moving to the MBL.
Ironically, the MTAL/SCCAL proposal was actually a re-introduction of a second final proposal the realignment committee had presented at the Feb. 17 town hall meeting but was struck down.
“(At that time) I think they thought something wasn’t there,” said committee chair and San Benito assistant principal Duane Morgan. “Aptos, Pajaro Valley and Watsonville didn’t quite understand what the constituency wanted.”
A 34-0 vote was also cast in favor of allowing Anchorpoint Christian School (Gilroy), Calvary Chapel (Murrieta), Cypress Grove (Monterey), Pacific Collegiate School (Santa Cruz) and Prunedale Christian (Prunedale) to form the new Coastal Athletic League.
