The IHSAA Executive Committee approved the new sectional groupings for eight team sports Monday. The alignments will feature the same sectional pairings for baseball, boys/girls basketball, softball and volleyball, while boys/girls soccer and football differ. Locally, the sectional pairings for baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball are the same as previous years, outside of Whitko moving from Class 3A Sectional 23 back to Sectional 21, after Columbia City reclassified to Class 3A, bumping the Wildcats back to Sectional 21. Another change in the postseason of those four sports is in Class 1A, where Michigan City Marquette is out of Sectional 51, being replaced by LaCrosse. Football is where the biggest change is, as a new sixth class has been implemented. With that change, the Warsaw Tigers were placed in a sectional with Carroll (Fort Wayne), Fort Wayne Northrop and Homestead. The Wawasee Warriors, who just introduced new coach Joshua Ekovich Monday, will be in Class 4A Sectional 19 along with Angola, DeKalb, East Noble, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Leo, Northridge and NorthWood. The realignment didn’t help the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings get away from perennial power Jimtown in Class 3A, as, along with Jimtown, Sectional 26 will feature Culver Military Academy, Fairfield, Maconaquah, Peru, Rochester and Twin Lakes. No favors were given to the Whitko Wildcats either, as they will play in Class 3A Sectional 27, where Fort Wayne Bishop Luers was placed after moving from Class 2A to 3A after winning the past four 2A state championship, therefore getting bumped up based on their Success Rate Factor. Along with Whitko and Luers, Sectional 27 will also have Bellmont, Fort Wayne Concordia, Garrett, Heritage, Lakeland and West Noble. Class 2A Sectional 34 will include the Manchester Squires, along with Bremen, Central Noble, Churubusco, Eastside Prairie Heights, Wabash and Woodlan. Lastly, the Triton Trojans will be the team farthest to the east in Class 1A Sectional 41, which is comprised of Culver, Lake Station, LaVille, South Central (Union Mills), West Central, Whiting and Winamac. Changes were also made to the soccer sectionals, which consists of two classes.
BASEBALL; BASKETBALL; SOFTBALL; VOLLEYBALL
Class 4A Sectional 4 Concord, Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Goshen, Northridge, Warsaw Class 3A Sectional 21 Fairfield, Lakeland, NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wawasee, West Noble, Whitko Class 2A Sectional 37 Lewis Cass, Manchester, North Miami, Northfield, Oak Hill, Southwood, Wabash Class 1A Sectional 51 Argos, Culver, LaCrosse, Oregon-Davis, South Central (Union-Mills), Triton Class 1A Sectional 52 Bethany Christian, Elkhart Christian Academy, F.W. Blackhawk, Hamilton, Howe, Lakeland Christian Academy, Lakewood Park Christian
FOOTBALL
Class 6A Sectional 3 Carroll (Fort Wayne), F.W. Northrop, Homestead, Warsaw Class 4A Sectional 19 Angola, DeKalb, East Noble, F.W. Bishop Dwenger, Leo, Northridge, NorthWood, Wawasee Class 3A Sectional 26 Culver Military Academy, Fairfield, Jimtown, Maconaquah, Peru, Rochester, Tippecanoe Valley, Twin Lakes Class 3A Sectional 27 Bellmont, F.W. Bishop Luers, F.W. Concordia, Garrett, Heritage, Lakeland, West Noble, Whitko Class 2A Sectional 34 Bremen, Central Noble, Churubusco, Eastside, Manchester, Prairie Heights, Wabash, Woodlan Class 1A Sectional 41 Culver, Lake Station, LaVille, South Central (Union Mills), Triton, West Central, Whiting, Winamac
BOYS SOCCER
Class 2A Sectional 7 Culver Military Academy, NorthWood, Plymouth, Warsaw, Wawasee Class 1A Sectional 40 F.W. Concordia, F.W. Blackhawk, Manchester, Whitko Class 1A Sectional 41 Argos, Bremen, Culver, Lakeland Christian Academy, Winamac
GIRLS SOCCER
Class 2A, Sectional 7 Culver Girls Academy, NorthWood, Plymouth, Warsaw, Wawasee Class 1A Sectional 37 F.W. Blackhawk, F.W. Bishop Luers, F.W. Canterbury, F.W. Concordia, Heritage, South Adams, Whitko, Woodlan Class 1A Sectional 38 Blackford, Eastbrook, Maconaquah, Manchester, North Miami, Oak Hill, Peru
