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The Oregon School Activities Association will stick with six classifications for the 2018-2022 time block, and several alignment changes will give leagues in Southern Oregon different looks. The OSAA executive board on Monday adopted the classification and districting committee’s final recommendation — issued on Sept. 28 — for six classes with only one change: Rogue River’s request to play down a class, to 2A, was approved. The board voted 10-to-1 in favor of the committee’s recommendation. In the Class 6A Southwest Conference, which includes North Medford, South Medford and Grants Pass, Willamette is being ushered out, dropping the league to six teams. Roseburg, Sheldon and South Eugene will also remain. The enrollment limit for 6A was increased from 1,200 to 1,260, bumping Willamette and West Albany down to 5A. Willamette now joins the 5A Midwestern League, where it will compete with Southern Oregon teams Ashland, Crater and Eagle Point. Another school, North Bend, moves up from the 4A ranks, while Marist drops from the MWL to the 4A Sky Em League. Other holdovers in the Midwestern League will be Churchill, North Eugene, Springfield and Thurston, making it a nine-school conference. The 4A Skyline Conference, which has six teams, including Phoenix, won’t change. The 3A Southern Cascade League, however, underwent considerable restructuring. Medford schools Cascade Christian and St. Mary’s will now be part of the six-team, 3A Umpqua River Conference. They will join Brookings-Harbor, Douglas, South Umpqua and Sutherlin — schools that were 4A in the last time block. The two Medford schools will be the smallest in the league, based on 2016-17 enrollment numbers. Butte Falls/Crater Lake Charter will move from 1A to 2A and join the Mountain View Conference, along with Rogue River, Illinois Valley and Lakeview from the current 3A SCL. Other schools in the MVC will be Bonanza, Canyonville Christian, Glide and Lost River. Prospect and Rogue Valley Adventist remain in the 1A Mountain Valley League with nine other members. The biggest stumbling block the OSAA faced was what to do with three Bend schools — Bend, Mountain View and Summit. The executive board heard three hours of testimony regarding its plan to move the 5A schools up to 6A and put them in the Greater Valley Conference with five Salem schools. Most of the discussion was from Salem schools expressing displeasure at being in a league with Bend schools. However, the board stuck to the reommendation. In an update it issued earlier, the committee explained moving the Bend schools: “The Committee feels that a standalone three-team Central Oregon league is not a viable option, nor is separating those schools into different leagues (per OSAA policy). Though it has become evident that no current league is interested in adding the three Bend schools, the group believes that choosing the shortest of the three travel options makes the most sense when applying the criteria.” With the changes, 6A goes from 52 to 53 schools, 5A remains at 33, 4A drops from 40 to 33, 3A drops from 41 to 35, 2A jumps from 44 to 49 and 1A climbs from 82 to 85. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479 or [email protected]