Addition of high schools alters leagues’ traditions

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Aug. 20, 1999 | 12:10 p.m.

Nevada's prep re-alignment won't take place for another year, but the local high school sports scene will have a very different look when the fall season kicks off next week.

In every sport except football, the Sunrise and Sunset Divisions (now known as regions) have each been split into two leagues -- the Northeast and Southeast Divisions in the Sunrise and the Northwest and Southwest in the Sunset.

The new system also means the end of Southern Nevada's longtime tradition of crowning a city or zone champion in every sport. Starting this year, the Sunrise and Sunset Regions will each hold their own tournaments to determine state playoff participants.

The changes were necessitated by the addition of Clark County's three new 4A high schools -- Las Vegas' Centennial and Desert Pines and Henderson's Foothill.

Because those three schools will spend their first football season playing "independent" schedules, local football teams will continue to utilize an eight-team Sunrise and nine-team Sunset Division.

In all other team sports, a preseason coin flip has determined that the Sunrise Region will produce Southern Nevada's No. 1 and No. 4 seeds at state, while the Sunset Division will send the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. In a sport featuring a four-team state bracket like soccer, the Sunrise champ will be the south's No. 1 seed and the Sunset champ will enter as the south's No. 2 seed.

Individual-oriented sports such as tennis, golf and track will continue to hold city-wide postseason 'zone' championships.

Another major change this season will be the end of Nevada's decade-long tradition of holding all four state championship football games at UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium.

The 1A-3A games will be played at the site of the higher seed, while the 4A title tilt will alternate between north and south, with the 1999 northern champ playing host to this year's 4A championship.

The boys and girls state basketball tourney will continue to be held at Reno's Lawlor Events Center annually, while Southern Nevada becomes the permanent home for the state baseball and softball tournaments beginning this spring.

Next year, the state will undergo a major re-alignment that will give Southern Nevada a 2-to-1 edge in state playoff participation over its northern counterparts.

* ON THE DIAL: Nevada's high school playoffs will also have a new radio home this season, with Elmore Sports purchasing exclusive rights to broadcast postseason games in Las Vegas and Reno.

Locally, 4A state championship games in football, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball will air on KSHP 1400-AM, which will also carry a full slate of weekly regular season football games this fall.

"We are very excited about the growth opportunities in high school sports in Nevada," said Elmore Sports National Director of Sales and Marketing Alex Shelton, who will share play-by-play duties with former Illinois State announcer Brett Grant. Sports Fan radio network's Chad Andrus will handle color commentary duties.

KNEWS 970-AM will also air regular season football games every Friday night during the season, and Cox Cable Channel 48 will continue to broadcast its game of the week Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

* GATOR EATS UP LINKS: Green Valley High's Mary Fernandez successfully defended her Nevada State Women's Amateur Golf Championship this week, easily besting the field by a whopping 10 strokes at Reno's Golf Club at Lightning W Ranch.

Fernandez, a 17-year-old senior, posted a three-day score of 218. Green Valley teammate Kimberly Kindig was fourth with a 236.