Two appeals challenging high school sports releaguing in the Sequoia Division for the 2004-2006 seasons were turned back last week by the executive committee of the Central Section.

But officials representing the Tulare and Kings County-based East Sequoia League and Garces High School in Bakersfield said they will probably take their cases to the last court of appeal -- the Federated Council of the California Interscholastic Federation -- for final tries at overturning a May 14 vote that created two eight-team leagues and one six-team league in the Sequoia Divi-sion.

"Our appeal is definitely valid and I think the state will uphold that," Gene Etheridge, principal of Orosi High School and lead representative for the East Sequoia League, said following the nearly two-hour special meeting held in Visalia on Aug. 13.

"We think we have a valid point in terms of our complaint. We are going to be going to the state level for appeal," Etheridge said. He said he did not know how that procedure would play out or how long it might take.

Central Section executive committee members called the meeting to hear appeals filed by the East Sequoia League and Garces. Though using different approaches, both appellants challenged the realignment of sports leagues in the Sequoia Division that was narrowly approved by the committee last May.

Etheridge and the ESL cited violations of due process in previous votes taken on the issue as well as the placement committee's failure to follow the releaguing timeline set forth in the section's constitution.

Drawing support from the Central Sequoia League, the ESL also contested the creation of the 8-8-6 alignment in the division, saying it violated guidelines established by the Superintendent's Inter-League CIF Council, which recommended limits on the amount of time spent out of class by student/athletes and on economic impacts of increased travel costs for many schools involved in the realignment. The ESL also contended that a three-league alignment would cost the division votes on the executive committee -- each league gets two votes -- and would limit their opportunity to schedule contests outside their leagues.

"We believe that there is a majority of Sequoia Division schools that are not in favor of this alignment plan," Etheridge told the committee during its hearing.

Instead of three leagues encompassing the Sequoia Division's 22 schools, the ESL proposed that two five-team leagues and two six-team leagues be created. The leagues would be aligned geographically and would more effectively contain travel costs and time spent out of school, Etheridge said.

The East Sequoia League proposed to remain intact in that 5-5-6-6 arrangement. It would consist of Corcoran, Dinuba, Exeter, Lindsay Orosi and Woodlake. The South Sequoia League would be reduced by one school (Garces) and would include Arvin, Golden Valley of Bakersfield, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi and Wasco.

Garces, in its appeal, had requested to be allowed back in the SSL, citing its small enrollment (615 students) as a major disadvantage when competing in its new league, the Southeast Yosemite League, against schools with average enrollments of 2,200. Garces raised liability issues -- its football teams would be outmanned and outsized by larger schools -- along with competitive equity issues. In the end, Garces' appeal was rejected because its officials did not draft a specific enough proposal to replace the one approved on May 14, a key requirement when filing a releaguing appeal.

In the ESL appeal proposal, the Central Sequoia League would include Kingsburg, Selma, Sierra of Tollhouse, Washington Union of Easton and Yosemite of Oakhurst, while the North Sequoia League would include Chowchilla, Coalinga, Dos Palos,, Immanuel of Reedley and Kerman.

Jeff Cardoza, athletic director at Washington Union, protested that North Sequoia League teams have had to make longer trips -- based on average round-trip distances -- than any other league in the section. He said the 8-8-6 alignment would more adequately balance out travel costs.

"The North Sequoia League has been in a five-team for eight years," he said. "We think it is time that it be spread out.

"The North has been the league that has been left out all the time. We have considerable more travel than any other league. We feel it is very unfair to the North Sequoia."

John Pestorich, Washington Union's superintendent, contended that three times votes taken in subcommittees or by the executive committee have favored the 8-8-6 alignment. Now, the ESL and CSL are asking to be heard again, he said.

"Nothing has changed in the time since that vote [May 14] was taken," Pestorich said. "There is no new rationale here.

"If you vote to uphold this appeal, all you are doing is upholding the California phenomena that if you are unhappy and in a minority viewpoint, you just hold another vote and see how it comes out this time."

Al George, superintendent at Immanuel High School, previously said his school favored the 5-5-6-6 alignment. But at last week's meeting he switched, saying that travel costs and time out of school would negatively impact his school's strong athletic program. In the ESL's appeal proposal, he said Immanuel would be making long trips -- 87 miles one way to Dos Palos, 80 miles one way to Coalinga, 62 miles one way to Chowchilla -- when there were schools closer to play in the North Sequoia League-favored 8-8-6 format.

"If we are put in that league [in the ESL proposal], we are going to travel by at least three schools very closely on the way to play schools that are 87, 80 and 62 miles away," George said. "That is a tough sell for our board. They didn't know how we could justify that financially or educationally."

Section Commissioner Jim Crichlow announced the results of a poll conducted among Sequoia Division teams that supported Etheridge's majority declaration. Crichlow said 12 schools favored the three-league setup (including Selma and Kingsburg), four favored the 8-8-6 (including Washington Union), and six schools (most of the South Sequoia League) were not present.

Executive committee members first voted unanimously that the ESL's appeal was valid and should be heard. Then, after lengthy debate, the committee voted 17-11 against the appeal, which meant that the May 14 vote, creating the 8-8-6 alignment, would stand.

"We are kind of locked in if we want to be in athletics at this point," said Linda Clark, superintendent and principal at Kingsburg High School. "Our board will have to make a decision now about what we will do to fit it all into our budget."

Like numerous schools opposing the realignment, Clark had said that the 8-8-6 setup would more than double travel mileage (to more than 9,000 miles) and would double transportation costs to more than $8,000. It would also greatly increase the time Viking athletes spent out of the classroom.

Randy Esraelian, athletic director at Selma High School, said he was disappointed by the final vote, but reconciled that Bears' sports teams would do all they have to do to compete in the new alignment.

"We are going to travel," he said. "The bottom line is there are a lot of good things about an eight-team league -- scheduling and not having to worry about cross-overs [games needed to fill bye dates in a five-team league] -- but the traveling is a concern."

Esraelian said he is concerned that lower teams, such as freshmen teams, might suffer if the budget has to be trimmed to fit the added cost of transportation into an already tight fiscal plan. He said he hoped that the 8-8-6 realignment might be changed again after the 2004-2006 releaguing cycle, but he worried that if freshmen teams are cut out now, "it could be very risky thinking that they could be reinstated."

Final Sequoia Division Alignment

(2004-2006 Sports Seasons)

North Sequoia League -- Kerman, Dos Palos, Chowchilla, Selma, Washington Union (Easton), Yosemite (Tollhouse), Sierra (Oakhurst) and Kingsburg.

Central Sequoia League -- Corcoran, Lindsay, Orosi, Woodlake, Exeter, Coalinga, Dinuba and Immanuel (Reedley).

South Sequoia League -- Arvin, Shafter, Taft, Wasco, Tehachapi and Golden Valley (Bakersfield).

(August 20, 2003 Newspaper Publication)