PI ‘Cats ponder Class B School still in ‘A’ for four sports

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The Presque Isle community has always taken a lot of pride in its successful high school sports teams – and the fact that the Wildcats have been playing in Class A despite a high school enrollment under the minimum for soccer, basketball, baseball and softball.

But the school is nearing the end of a four-year agreement to play in Class A, and is now considering whether to stay there or drop to Class B in all sports.

With 687 students, Presque Isle is currently under the Class A enrollment cutoff of 725 for soccer, basketball, baseball and soccer. The school plays in Class B in all other sports it offers through the school year, including cross country, golf, cheerleading, ice hockey, skiing, swimming, outdoor track and field, and tennis.

SAD 1 superintendent Gehrig Johnson said he has the final decision, which he will likely announce at a school board meeting scheduled for Nov. 12. He must relay that decision to Maine Principals’ Association executive director Dick Durost by Nov. 15.

Johnson is working closely with Presque Isle principal Eric Waddell and athletic director David Heald and the district has been soliciting public opinion.

“I think our biggest hurdle is just tradition,” Waddell said. “We’re a very traditional school and a very traditional community. We have to realize that enrollment isn’t anywhere near when it was 20 years ago. Change comes hard here.”

There are two primary reasons to stay in Class A, Johnson said: the fact that the Wildcat teams have been competitive over the years despite the low enrollment, and the tradition of playing Class A teams.

“We have long-standing relationships with schools like Bangor, Brewer, Nokomis [in Newport], other Eastern Maine Class A schools for many, many years,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to break that relationship.

“But it comes to a point where we’re trying to decide as a community if we’re being fair to our students.”

Presque Isle’s schedule for the four sports includes games against Bangor (enrollment of about 1,500), Brewer and Nokomis (around 800 each).

Johnson said Presque Isle’s enrollment is projected to go down to 600-625 students in five years.

Low enrollment hasn’t hurt the Wildcat soccer teams that much this season. The boys went 12-2 in the regular season with the No. 4 seed for the Eastern Maine playoffs, while the girls are 9-4-1 and ranked fifth.

Johnson also pointed to the 1990 and 1997 Class A girls basketball state championships.

“The fact is we have been competitive,” he said. “The teams will be strong when we look to the future. It’s going to be hard to make a decision.”

When he arrived at Presque Isle in 1983, Johnson said the school’s enrollment was about 930. When the Loring Air Base in Limestone closed, Presque Isle lost about 100 students in two years, and enrollment has slowly declined.

It’s nothing new in Aroostook County, which has seen an overall population decline. Caribou High went from Class A to Class B in 2001.

Presque Isle recently put out word in the local media that it wanted to hear public opinion on the possible reclassification. Johnson said he has received 75-80 written responses.

Johnson declined to say which way public opinion was going. He also did not reveal his personal feelings.

Waddell said he has received phone calls from community members, some for and others against going to Class B, but there’s been no overwhelming feeling one way or the other.

“I don’t have a personal preference,” Waddell said. “I just know that I’m very interested to hear from the community to see what they think about it.”

Johnson said much of the public discussion has been centered around basketball, because of the sport’s popularity and high visibility, but the community shouldn’t think of it as just a basketball issue.

“It’s really a concern for all [four] sports,” he said.

Dexter field hockey riding streak

The Dexter field hockey team doesn’t want to make a big deal about it, but the Tigers are in the midst of a 50-game unbeaten run.

“We haven’t said too much about it,” Dexter coach Margaret Veazie said. “We’ve talked about it among the team.”

It’s not a winning streak, Veazie stressed, because of a 1-1 tie against Stearns of Millinocket during the 2000 season. The state record for consecutive wins is 50, which was set by Class A Sanford last year.

“If not for that tie,” Veazie said with a laugh. “We were missing five starters because of the flu. Isn’t that sad?”

The two-time defending Class C state champs will begin a hunt this week for a fourth title since 1998.

Dexter, which this year is the No. 1 seed in Eastern Maine Class C and finished the regular season with a 14-0 record, will take on No. 8 Livermore Falls (6-6-2) in a quarterfinal game Wednesday.

Sophomore Meagan Fogarty leads the Tigers with 20 goals, which ties the school’s sophomore scoring record set in 1999 by former Dexter star Kristy Veazie, Margaret Veazie’s daughter.

Celebrate high school activities

National High School Activities Week, a week-long observation and appreciation of high school activities, is being held this week.

The week kicked off Sunday with National Be A Sport Day, meant to encourage awareness and discussion about the importance of sportsmanship, ethics and integrity. National Fine Arts Activities Day was celebrated Monday and National Officials Day is Tuesday.

Wednesday is National Youth Health Awareness Day and National Coaches Day is held on Thursday.

National Fan Appreciation Day will take place Friday and Saturday’s National Community Service/Participation Day.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.