Gilroy and Christopher high winter sports teams – basketball, soccer and wrestling – will have to contend with a few new counterparts come the 2012-13 season as the prep athletics alignment process took another step forward with the finalization of division placement into the reconfigured Monterey Bay League super conference.
The joint Board of Managers, which is made up of primarily principals of the 15 schools associated with what are still considered, for the next three months anyway, the Tri-County Athletic League and Monterey Bay League (Palma an all-boys school and Notre Dame an all-girls school), approved recommendations March 22, slotting teams into either the upper Gabilan Division and lower Pacific Division effective for the 2012-13 season.
The two local schools will be division foes in just two sports – girls soccer and wrestling.
Both Cougar basketball teams – including last season’s MBL league champ girls team – were bumped up into Gabilan, while the GHS hoops squads will compete in the Pacific.
The re-alignment creates a loaded Gabilan Division in girls soccer, where the seven sides won a combined 73 games last season. That division includes the top-four finishers in the TCAL – the Mustangs (six consecutive TCAL championships), Salinas, San Benito and North Salinas – plus the top-three from the MBL – Watsonville, the Cougars and Pajaro Valley.
The Gabilan will be just as congested in wrestling as well. Gilroy and Christopher – the defending TCAL and MBL champs, respectively – will face off for the first time in a dual meet setting. GHS won 10 straight league titles while a member of the TCAL.
This is how the divisions are shaped for next season.
Boys basketball:
Gabilan Division – Monterey, Palma, San Benito, Salinas, Seaside, Everett Alvarez and Christopher.
Pacific Division – North Salinas, Monte Vista Christian, Watsonville, North Monterey County, Pajaro Valley, Alisal and Gilroy.
Girls basketball:
Gabilan – Notre Dame Salinas, North Salinas, San Benito, Alisal, Seaside and Christopher.
Pacific – Monte Vista Christian, Watsonville, North Monterey County, Everett Alvarez, Monterey, Pajaro Valley and Gilroy.
Boys soccer:
Gabilan – Watsonville, Alisal, North Monterey County, Salinas, Pajaro Valley, Seaside and Gilroy.
Pacific – Monte Vista Christian, Monterey, North Salinas, Palma, Everett Alvarez, San Benito and Christopher.
Girls soccer:
Gabilan – Watsonville, San Benito, Salinas, Pajaro Valley, North Salinas, Christopher and Gilroy.
Pacific – Seaside, Monterey, Monte Vista Christian, Notre Dame, Everett Alvarez, North Monterey County and Alisal.
Wrestling:
Gabilan – Alisal, Monterey, North Salinas, Palma, San Benito, Christopher and Gilroy.
Pacific – Everett Alvarez, Monte Vista Christian, North Monterey County, Pajaro Valley, Salinas, Seaside and Watsonville.
