The Montezuma-Cortez High School athletic department is ready to kick off a new era.
For more than 50 years, the Panthers competed in the 4A/5A Southwestern League in various programs. But last November, M-CHS became one of the first schools in state history to be reclassified, moving down in class from 4A to 3A in all team sports except football.
In fall sports, the change affects volleyball, cross-country, golf and softball, with each program now competing in Class 3A. Football is classified differently and will remain in Class 2A, and boys soccer dropped to 3A in 2014 and will remain there. There are only 4A and 5A classifications in boys tennis, so the Panthers will remain in the 4A/5A Southwestern League.
There’s a sense of optimism about competing in Class 3A this season because M-CHS has often struggled to remain competitive in the Class 4A/5A Southwestern League for the past decade.
The baseball team compiled a 50-game losing streak that spanned over five years of conference play before beating Montrose this spring, the girls soccer team hasn’t won more than one league game since 2010, and the boys soccer team went 0-38 in its last four seasons in the Southwestern League before dropping to Class 3A in 2014.
These are just a few of the painful seasons of yesteryear, but M-CHS hopes that its win totals will increase across the board with the change in class.
For the 2014-2016 cycle, M-CHS had an enrollment of 623 and was competing against schools nearly three times its size. For example, Montrose, Fruita Monument and Grand Junction boast enrollment totals of 1,351, 1,671 and 1,763, respectively.
Now in Class 3A, most of M-CHS’ programs have joined the Intermountain League and get their chance to be the big fish in a small pond. With an enrollment of 629 for the 2016-2018 cycle, M-CHS will compete against schools including Monte Vista (274), Centauri (298), Pagosa Springs (364), Bayfield (364) and Alamosa (574).
In theory, M-CHS should be much more competitive this season. But it should be noted that the Intermountain League is one of the best in the state.
In boys sports last year, Bayfield went 12-0 and won the Class 2A football state championship, Alamosa fell in the Class 3A basketball title game to finish second in the state, and the Pagosa Springs soccer squad went 17-1 and fell in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
The Intermountain League also had strong teams in volleyball and girls basketball. In volleyball, Alamosa finished with a 20-3 record, falling in the regional tournament, and Pagosa Springs made an appearance at the Class 3A state tournament.
And in hoops, the league sent three teams to the Class 3A state tournament, in Monte Vista, Centauri and Pagosa Springs.
Monte Vista went one-and-done in the tourney, but Centauri finished fourth after dropping the third-place game. Pagosa Springs wrapped up its season with a 25-1 record and a win in the fifth-place game.
To be clear, there is no irrefutable link between enrollment numbers and wins or losses. So there’s no guarantee that M-CHS’ programs will see more victories.
But the entire concept of having different classifications is so that schools compete against those with a similar number of students from which to pull talent. A level playing field, if you will.
So, even though the Intermountain League may be one of the toughest Class 3A leagues in the state, M-CHS has the advantage of being the largest school in the conference and should be much more relevant across the board.
That’s not to say that the Panthers will be automatic favorites in any sport.
But every program should be more competitive and in the mix in league play, instead of struggling just to stay out of the Southwestern League cellar.
