West, Hi Park ponder league change

Highland Park and Topeka West could be on their way to leaving the Centennial League, with the two Unified School District 501 high schools beginning the process of considering other league options.

Topeka West principal Dustin Dick, the lead high school principal who also oversees athletics for USD 501, told The Topeka Capital-Journal that Highland Park and West have received permission from district officials to pursue a possible move from the Centennial League to another league affiliation.

Dick has met with USD 501 board members, as well as the coaching staffs of both schools, to inform them about plans moving forward.

Dick has also informed Centennial League officials about the possibility of a league switch, which is not likely to occur until the 2022-23 school year, if indeed a change is made.

"Topeka West High School and Highland Park High School are exploring options for possibly a new league, and ultimately then potentially leaving the Centennial League," Dick said. "We have not had any offer to join any other league, either one of us. We're just looking at options and what may be available and out there to just give kids and everybody the best possible chance for success.

"It may be that the Centennial League is that place, but at this point in time we have permission from the central office and from the board of education to explore what options might be out there for us."

Dick said that Class 5A schools Highland Park and Topeka West will be looking to determine if there's an area league that could offer schools comparable in size to the two schools while also providing a more even playing field in terms of competitive balance.

"That's ultimately what we're trying to do," Dick said. "I think we owe that to our kids."

The Centennial League includes 6A schools Washburn Rural, Manhattan, Topeka High and Junction City, who all have between 294 and 787 more students than West and between 481 and 974 more students than Highland Park, according to Kansas State High School Activities Association classification numbers for the 2019-2020 school year.

"I think both of us are looking for a place where our kids can experience some success and more competitiveness on a regular basis," Dick said. "At times we've had success, but most of the time throughout the history of the Centennial League, when you look at the overall league standings at the end of the year in many of the sports, we've been towards the bottom of the pack.

"Ideally, (a new league) would be some place with 5A schools primarily, all a similar size in classification."

The two current leagues that seem to meet that criteria would be the United Kansas Conference, which Shawnee Heights became a member of in the 2018-19 school year, and the Kansas City Atchison League. Dick said he has had preliminary contact with both of those leagues.

Dick said the reaction of coaches at both West and Hi Park, as well as district officials and others close to the situation, has been positive, but he said that leaving the Centennial League will not be an easy decision.

"There's been a lot of positive reaction from coaches and from some what I would call key stakeholders in each one of our communities about the possibility (of a move), but we've also been a longtime member of the Centennial League now," Dick said.

"I certainly like the schools in the league. I like the principals that we work with, and we've got great coaches and athletes and good teams, and it's a highly competitive league. The Centennial League produces state champions and state qualifiers across the board every year, so there's some mixed feelings about the thought of leaving the league, but we haven't experienced as much success as some others and I just think we owe it to the kids to give us a chance."

Dick said he is hopeful a decision on Topeka West and Highland Park's future can be made by the end of the current school year or early summer so that the two schools can notify the Centennial League of their decision.

It is likely if a move is made that the Chargers and Scots would continue to compete in the Centennial League through the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.

Dick acknowledged there's a chance that Topeka West and Highland Park could end up in two separate leagues moving forward. He also emphasized that Topeka High doesn't have any plans to leave the Centennial League.

In the event of a league change, Dick said the three USD 501 schools would still continue to play each other, as well as some of the other schools currently in the Centennial League.

If Highland Park and Topeka West do leave the Centennial League, the league would be left with seven schools, and six for football as long as Hayden remains a 3A school in that sport.

Topeka West boys basketball coach Rick Bloomquist, who has competed for more than two decades in the Centennial League while coaching at Emporia and West, said he understands the decision for West and Hi Park to consider a change.

"For the good of the school, I'm fine," Bloomquist said. "I tell my players not to be selfish; I can't be selfish either. Obviously, I'm a Centennial League guy. I've been in the Centennial League all my life and I'll always play some Centennial League teams, but for Topeka West and Highland Park, it's a good move.

"Change is good and we need to benefit all our kids."