West Shamokin High School's athletics could be moving all of its sports from the WPIAL's District 7 to District 6 in the Heritage Conference next year.
“We want to be able to play closer to home and cut back our travel,” said Principal Steven Shutters. “In our current conference, the teams we play changes every two years.
“But in the Heritage Conference, we would be able to develop and maintain lasting rivalries with nearby schools that provide quality competition.”
The change would bring the Wolves into competition with schools closer to eastern Armstrong County that are a similar size, such as Marion Center, Blairsville, Homer Center and Saltsburg, Shutters said.
The Armstrong School District has a second high school, Armstrong High. There are no plans to move its sports teams from the WPIAL.
Shutters said the district considered changing West Shamokin's athletic conference about five years ago, but the move failed because some of its junior high sports did not run during the same season. Officials would have had to change when some of the sports were played, which would create scheduling conflicts for practices at West Shamokin, or just give up the sports altogether.
“There are times when our gym is packed as it is, but there would be times where we'd have to schedule practices to go until at least 11 p.m., which was not an option,” Shutters said. “Last time, we thought what they had to offer and what we would have to give up wasn't worth it, but things have changed and this seems like a good fit.”
Shutters said the school met with all of its coaches to discuss the change last week to discuss the change. Administrators received positive feedback, Shutters said.
Armstrong School District Superintendent Chris DeVivo said the conference would charge the district about $1,000 annually to participate, which is comparable to the WPIAL's rates.
Shutters said West Shamokin won't need to lose any of its club or school-sponsored sports to participate in the Heritage Conference.
“The competition is there and the important thing is what sports we play won't change at all, just who we play,” he said. “This is an exciting opportunity.”
Brad Pedersen is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-543-1303, ext. 1337, or bpedersen@tribweb.com.
