Friday, Aug. 15, 2008

Disorder in the house

BRIAN HERNALSTEEN bhernalsteen@ star-telegram.com

In some ways, the world of Mansfield athletics has been turned upside down.

Two schools stay in District 4-5A, and two schools move to District 8-4A.

A house divided indeed.

The UIL alignment is based on enrollment numbers for the high school. That enrollment number was determined by a sampling of numbers of grades 9-12 on a specific date. This time around, it was Oct. 26.Mansfield and Summit stay a part of 4-5A, while Legacy and Timberview move down to 8-4A. The move came in the spring, due to the UIL realignment that takes place every two years.

"There isn’t one district that is tougher than the other. They are both very competitive and new rivalries will come out of the alignment," said athletic director Debbie Weems. "We are kind of spread out being split up into two districts. There is a lot of organizing and following the right procedures when a district is split up."

Due to a UIL ruling and region alignment, soccer and swimming will cause confusion. The sports will be put into different regions based on the number of schools participating, since not every school can field both teams.

"It’s almost like we are in four districts instead of two," Weems said, referring to swimming and soccer.

Swimming and soccer aside, how will this new alignment affect schedules? And with the schools being put into districts with some unfamiliar foes, will Mansfield schools still be able to compete at a high level?

Those answers will come in time, but with everyone shuffling around, schedules and travel dates are all sorts of messed up.

Mansfield and Summit are in a district with the Arlington squads, so travel won’t be as big an issue as it is with the 4A teams. Legacy and Timberview have Stephenville in their district, making it a jaunt for weeknight games that might feature a trip out west.

Traveling aside, the matchups should be exciting across the board.

The volleyball district for the 5A schools includes Arlington, Arlington Martin, Arlington Lamar and Arlington Bowie. None of those teams are pushovers, with Arlington being ranked in the top five in the state.

"It’s going to be tough, there is no doubt," said Mansfield coach Judith McGill. "We are going to face some of the top teams not just in the area, but in the region. It’s not something you can shy away from, you have to go out there and expect to win and try to win, because that is all you can do."

In football, the 4A teams might be in for a battle.

Legacy is the great unknown, since the year-old school hasn’t played a varsity game yet. Timberview, on the other hand, is a solid squad, having made it deep into the playoffs last season.

Apparently, that doesn’t matter, because according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, the Wolves might be on the outside looking in.

None of that is taking away from the 5A schools, which are in an equally tough division. Mansfield and Summit have the top Arlington teams on their schedules at least for the next two years, and it looks to be a challenge as well.

"You know, we don’t care what it says in a magazine. We can be put in any situation, either 4A or 5A, and our guys don’t care," said Summit coach Kyle Geller. "All I can control is our kids. We will be ready for the challenges that face us, but we aren’t focusing on how we lined up in the UIL."

And all of that is just the fall sports. Come winter, basketball is in the mix.

But before that, there is cross country, golf, tennis and swimming.

"From a district standpoint, the campuses are going different directions, and it makes it difficult for scheduling. The 5A schools (Mansfield and Summit) will be in one of the top districts in the state, swimming against teams like Southlake and Lewisville. The 4A schools (Legacy and Timberview) have a great chance to be very competitive and send loads of kids to regionals and beyond," said Cody Huckabay, Mansfield aquatics director. "It will be a fun year, and I think that the Mansfield schools will all do very well."

The spring sports are just as confusing. Soccer has been a point of pride for the district the past few years, and this year could be difficult for all teams involved.

Baseball, softball and track are wild cards, because the shuffling just took out a couple of top teams and moved in another of the area’s better squads.

Like Bob Dylan sang, "The times, they are a changin.’"

Everything is upside down, backward and mind-numbingly confusing.

I think I need an aspirin.