Colorado's large-school lacrosse teams like Cherry Creek now will face each other in the 5A bracket, and smaller schools get their crack at the inaugural 4A title.
Photo by Tim Visser
Colorado boys lacrosse has a new look this season, one designed to foster fairness, balance and two champions.
The change was long-awaited for many coaches, who didn't believe a school with less than 1,000 kids should be placed on the same platform as schools with several thousand.
So, it's finally here. Lacrosse has been split into two classifications, with the system making its debut this spring. The larger schools remain in 5A while the smaller ones compose their own 4A classification.
"I just think it gives more teams a chance to compete at a fairly high level,"
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) coach Mike Paige said. "Considering the limitations of some schools and the number of kids to draw athletes from, I think it's positive.
"5A, 4A and 3A (on down) has been pretty successful in football, basketball and other sports. And as lacrosse grows in Colorado, I think this is a pretty natural progression."
Under the new arrangement, 38 schools are under the 5A umbrella and 29 in 4A. Girls lacrosse remains one classification with 46 teams.
Paige hinted that the bigger issue is how the Colorado High School Activities Association will handle programs that pull athletes from other non-lacrosse schools in their region.
Initially, he said, CHSAA is basing a school's enrollment solely on those who attend the host school. If a 4A-sized school were drawing from say, six others, it is a good argument that the unified team should be required to compete in 5A.
"There's never going to be perfect equity," Paige said. "But this is a step in the right direction."
Windsor coach John Belleau likes the new arrangement for the most part, as his Wizards (6-6) still have a shot with a middle-of-the-road record in 4A. Certain aspects of the divided classifications, though, have a different type of impact for specific schools.
"Absolutely there's the balance aspect to it," Belleau said. "But at the same time, a lot of these teams are afraid to play us because we could hurt their record. It wouldn't really help them with a 5A victory over us."
Belleau indicated 5A teams shy away from matchups because, if they win, it's expected. If they lose, it could potentially knock them down several notches and impact their playoff chances.
"Our rivalry should be Fort Collins, but since they're 5A, they won't play us," said Belleau, actually referring to Fossil Ridge, the de-facto program for all Fort Collins varsity lacrosse players. "Little things like that are a downside to it."
Belleau took it hard because he is a Fort Collins graduate and formerly was a member of the coaching staff of the unified team. But overall, he views the change as a positive.
In the new classification,
Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) (13-1),
Aspen (10-1),
Battle Mountain (Edwards) (12-2) and Paige's Cheyenne Mountain squad (12-2) all are excelling, along with others, and won't have to worry about potentially meeting big-school stalwarts such as
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village),
Arapahoe (Centennial) or
Kent Denver (Englewood) in the postseason.
"It's early, but I don't think anyone can say there's a real detriment to it," Paige said. "As far as 5A teams not willing to play us, I really haven't seen it."
Monarch (Louisville) coach David Auday is a big fan of the new system, even though it doesn't affect his 5A Coyotes that much. Auday is an ambassador for the sport and has served on the state's lacrosse committee for the past two years.
"You look at a school like Alexander Dawson, that only has 300 or 400 kids," Auday said. "If this was last year, they'd have no chance to make the playoffs. Now, they're in the thick of the race."
Auday's hope is that the sport continues to flourish to such a degree that a 3A classification will be necessary in about five years.
