Capital approved to join Southwest District 4; next up is Greater St. Helens League

The process is nearly complete for Capital High School.

Following lingering questions of where the school’s athletic programs would end up for the 2016-2017 school year, Capital was accepted Thursday to Southwest District 4.

Its next step is application to the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League.

“The process is moving forward,” said Olympia School District athletic director Jeff Carpenter. “This is what we feel is best for our sports teams because of the consistent sub-varsity competition, and stability, because these schools aren’t going anywhere. They’re not going to change leagues or reconfigure anything.”

Carpenter and Capital athletic director Steve Bellande will meet with the 3A GSHL on Tuesday.

If accepted, Capital — currently a member of the Class 3A Narrows League — would join a league that officially includes Evergreen (reclassified from 4A), Fort Vancouver, Kelso and Prairie.

Mountain View (currently 4A GSHL) and Hudson’s Bay (2A GSHL) could also become members. Both schools submitted classification appeals to the WIAA, which will be heard Sunday or Monday.

Mountain View aims to drop to 3A, while Hudson’s Bay will vie to remain in 2A.

“For a stable situation for Capital, it’s down south,” Carpenter said.

Capital will likely become the third school to leave the 3A Narrows, of which eight schools are currently members.

North Thurston was accepted to the 3A South Puget Sound League earlier this month, and Foss was reclassified to 2A and will join the 2A SPSL.

The future of the 3A Narrows will hinge on whether or not the four remaining Tacoma schools in the Narrows League — Lincoln, Mount Tahoma, Stadium (which reclassified from 4A) and Wilson — win their appeal to the West Central District.

The four schools were initially rejected from joining the 3A SPSL. As were Central Kitsap and Shelton — the other two remaining 3A Narrows schools — which have also appealed.

“Tacoma is a big player,” Shelton athletic director Jim Judson said. “If Tacoma is accepted to the SPSL, then that opens the door for us to say we do not have a viable league. We’re skating on thin ice on having viability with six schools.”

The make-up of the 3A Narrows would likely include the four Tacoma schools, Central Kitsap and Shelton if appeals are denied.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Capital approved to join Southwest District 4; next up is Greater St. Helens League."