Christ Church wins, but ALA loses, in appeals to drop down in class for SC sports
Christ Church unanimously won its new classification appeal with the South Carolina High School League on Wednesday.
The league’s executive committee voted 15-0 to grant Christ Church’s appeal to go from Class 4A to Class 3A in the next realignment for the 2024-26 school year. Christ Church had competed in Class A, the state’s smallest classification, but was slated to move all the way to 4A.
Wednesday was the second day schools could appeal where they fell in realignment, which happens in the state every two years and is done to level the competitive playing field among schools.
This year’s realignment was different and included a multiplier for the first time. The out-of-zone multiplier took each student who lives outside of a school’s assigned attendance zone and counted them as three for total enrollment purposes. The result inflated schools’ official enrollment figures and, in some cases, raised up one or multiple levels in classification for athletics.
The multiplier had Christ Church moving up from Class A to 4A, the only school to make a three-classification jump in the realignment. According to 45-day enrollment figures, obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request by The State, 314 of Christ Church’s 324 students (97%) in grades 9-11 live outside of what the SCHSL considers the school’s attendance zone.
Of those students, 72% to 80% play athletics, Christ Church athletic director Molly said during the school’s presentation Wednesday. Instead of using the attendance zone as a reason for an appeal to drop from 4A to 3A, Christ Church focused on competitive balance.
Christ Church has one of the dominant programs in Class A, winning five state championships last year and finishing in the top five of the Carlisle Cup standings. The Carlisle Cup is a year-long competition in which schools earn points for athletic success in their classification.
Christ Church won its second straight Class A football championship in 2023, defeating Johnsonville 67-21.
“We’ll compete wherever they put us because we have a bunch of competitors,” Christ Church coach Quin Hatfield told reporters after the championship game.
Christ Church is one of four private schools that compete in the predominantly public S.C. High School League that has more than 200 members.
Christ Church head of school David Padilla and Miller said during Wednesday’s presentation that they realized the need to move up but thought three classifications would be too much.
“We have been successful at A and 2A. Recognize that and we want to be in 3A,” Miller said in the meeting.
The committee commended Christ Church’s proposal, saying they could have tried to appeal to go to 2A but recognized going to 3A would help with the competitive balance overall.
There are 22 schools appealing their new placement among the five S.C. High School League classes. Of those, 18 are charter or private schools, with the other four being traditional public schools.
American Leadership appeal denied
While many schools had their appeals approved on Wednesday, the committee voted 10-5 to deny American Leadership Academy in Lexington’s appeal to move from Class 3A to Class 2A.
ALA, a charter school, is in its first year of existence and is operating on an at-large basis this year with mainly junior varsity teams. The infancy of their program was one of the basis of ALA’s appeal which was presented by executive director Gordon Smith and athletic director Ray Canady. ALA also cited their lack of facilities and growing pains from first-year schools and most of the athletes are from ninth and tenth grade.
Smith said the school has lost around 300 students K-12 since the school started.
“There is potential for our program to get big ,but it is not that way now,” Smith said.
ALA can appeal to the Appellate panel if they choose.
Those in favor denying ALA cited the school’s ability to have success quicker because they can draw from larger area in Lexington County. They also said their numbers with the multiplier (903), according to 45-ADM, would have put them in Class 4A. But SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton said the realignment committee put them in 3A because of flexibility allowed to the committee.
Appeals decisions
▪ Wednesday
Greer Middle College: Approved (15-0 vote) in appeal to go from Class 4A to Class 3A.
Christ Church: Approved (15-0 vote) in appeal to go from Class 4A to Class 3A.
Green Upstate: Approved (15-0 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to Class A.
Bridges Prep: Approved (15-0 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
American Leadership Academy: Denied (10-5 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
Landrum: Coming soon
Bishop England: Coming soon
York Prep: Coming soon
Greenville Tech: Coming soon
Palmetto Scholars: Coming soon
▪ Tuesday
Abbeville: Denied (9-5 vote) in appeal to go from Class 2A to Class A.
Burke: Denied (14-1 vote) in appeal to go from Class 2A to Class A.
Brashier Middle College: Approved (11-4 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to 2A.
Charleston Math & Science: Approved (12-3 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to Class A.
Fox Creek: Approved (11-3 vote) in appeal to go from Class 4A to Class 3A.
Gray Collegiate: Denied (12-3) in appeal to go from Class 4A to 3A.
High Point Academy Denied appeal to move from Class 3A to Class A but approved (11-4 vote) amended motion to go to Class 2A.
Horse Creek Academy: Approved (15-0 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to Class A.
James Island: Denied appeal (14-1 vote) to move from Class 5A to Class 4A.
Seneca: Denied (14-1 vote) in appeal to go from Class 4A to 3A.
Southside Christian: Denied (9-5 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to 2A.
St. Joseph’s: Denied (12-2 vote) in appeal to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
