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Thursday, April 30, 1981- THE JANESVILLE GAZETTE- Page 21Rock Valley's 'Big Three'Drops to Onemd then there was one * n —............ville Parkview (489), Clinton (474), Beloit Turner (472), persuasion (for Walworth to accept the Rock Valley) is in'hat’s right! From now on, when they talk about the so- __________ Evansville (408) and Brodhead lt;3911, with a possible addi- our best interests.And then there was one That’s right! From now on, when they talk about the so-called ‘Big Three in the Rock Valley Conference, they can make it one—the Edgerton Crimson Tide In one of the quickest moves in WIAA conference realignment history, it took a mere 15 minutes in a meeting at Stevens Point earlier this week to finalize what has been talked about almost incessantly for months, if not years. As a result, the Rock Valley soon will be rid of two of its three “big schools and Walworth Big Foot will be away from the big company of the Southern Lakes Exactly what that means is this: Beginning with the start of the 1982-83 school year, Milton High and Jefferson officially will be moving from the Rock Valley to the Southern Lakes and Big Foot will be heading the opposite directionIt sounds just great for everybody, right? Well, that depends upon how you look at it.W’hat remains a prime concern for many (and rightfully so) is the fact that Edgerton won’t be going anywhere-except maybe to the top of the Rock Valley standings in virtually every sport After all, this bit of flip-flop will leave the Crimson Tide in a class by itself, at least from an enrollment standpoint.Edgerton’s official enrollment for WIAA purposes next school year, for example, will stand at 705. And, to tell it like it is, that compares to a current average of 473 for the other six schools currently aligned into the new Rock Valley.Absurd, you say? Or, how can it be9The answer to the second question is simple. When itHigh NotesBy Dave Wedeward Gazette Sports Editorcame down to the final decision, Edgerton went the route it opted for months ago, considering the limited alternatives available.Ironically, Edgerton wound up being the only school in the entire Southern Lakes and Rock Valley clan objecting to alignment that finally was accepted. But the bottom line on the Crimson Tide was its long-standing refusal (mainly for travel purposes) to join a two-division Southern LakesSo there you have it. Jefferson and Milton wanted to go, as did Big Foot, and Edgerton wanted to stay. And the WIAA finally obliged those wishes.All the details haven't been worked out, particularly on divisions for the new Southern Lakes, but the pieces are there. And here’s how it’s likely to look, with current enrollment figures in parentheses:• Rock Valley—Edgerton (705), Big Foot (631), Orford-ville Parkview (489), Clinton (474), Beloit Turner (472), Evansville (408) and Brodhead lt;3911, with a possible addition at some point of Beloit Catholic (274»• Southern Lakes West-Delavan-Darien (948), Milton (816), Jefferson (813), Elkhorn (707), Whitewater lt;6861, East Troy (631)• Southern Lakes East-Burlington lt;1,230), Salem Central (1,100), Lake Geneva Badger (920), Waterford (833), Wilmot (828), Union Grove (806).Everybody, of course, will have some 16 months to get used to that look before they actually have to live with it But there are a number of folks who already like what they see—especially those in Milton, a real pusher for realignment.We still would like to have Edgerton, of course,” Supt Jon Platts of Milton said on behalf of his school, but this was the best we could do right now. For the sake of our total program, we felt it was an untenable situation to stay in the Rock ValleyWe have an enrollment that’s going to remain stable, at least for the near future, Platts explained, leaving us with a gap (between the sizes of the present Rock Valley schools) that’s going to grow even wider. So we feel we re doing what we have to do. Despite some recent criticism within his community, Walworth Supt Merlin Romenesko, another long-time pusher for realignment, feels the same wayPersonally, I believe we re going where we belong, he said on behalf of Big Foot. I grew up w ith the Southern Lakes (first as a coach at Delavan) and that makes this a digging decision for me, but I believe my decision andpersuasion lt;for Walworth to accept the Rock Valley) is in our best interests. Meanwhile, back in the Southern Lakes, the objective of the superintendents is to make things even better than before. And they feel they can accomplish that with some pointed cutbacks in what they call unnecessary” travel By the time the new members join the conference, Supt Thane Uglow of Whitewater assures, the Southern Lakes’ inter-division travel will be reduced to a minimum The look for the future, he says, will be a double round robin (strictly intra-division) schedule for baseball and little, if any, inter-division competition (except for conference meets) in such sports as softball, golf, tennis and cross country.There can be some definite streamlining (of the schedules),” Uglow assured All 11 of our (present) superintendents agree on that, and it’s been a key thing in uniting our East and West for the future With that in mind, the question bounces back to Edgerton, which seemingly rejected the thought of a Southern Lakes move on the prospect of unwieldy travel into the far reaches of Kenosha County Would a controlled schedule have changed the Crimson point of view9 What’s the point of being in a conference with somebody if you’re not going to associate with them?” Edgerton principal John Shier bluntly responded.And to further restate the Edgerton point of view:We just don't want any part of a 12-team conference,” Shier said We feel we’d rather be where we are right now than in something like that Even if you are the Big One.”
Newspaper Details
Janesville Gazette
Janesville, Wisconsin, US
Thu, Apr 30, 1981
Page 23
Full Page
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USA 14 Aug 2024
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