Maize South High School will be making the change in 2020-2021 from the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division 2 to Division 1.

The decision was made by the AVCTL league per vote on October 2, 2019. Currently, Maize South is a 5A school in enrollment and with the increase of students from the past few years, this officially moves Maize South into the same league as 6A powerhouses like Derby, Haysville, and Hutchinson. 

The reason for the change is Maize South’s increasing enrollment numbers. In 2018-2019 there were 1,022, and there are no signs of that number going down anytime soon.  According to athletic director Curtis Klein, the change can greatly be attributed the new border system that took effect in the 2019-2020 school year. 

“Our enrollment increased so much, that’s how we ended up moving to Division 1, ” said Klein, “This is basically what our enrollment is for our boundaries.I really don’t see it going down. I think it’s gonna be 1,100 kids for the next at least 4 to 6 years.” 

The most tangible difference the change will have on Maize South is the level of competition in Division 1 opposed to Division 2.  In the Division 1 league, Maize South will be going face to face with larger 6A schools, sometimes even two times per year in sports such as soccer or softball.

 According to girls’ basketball coach Ben Hamilton, going up against these cut-throat schools is not a matter of great concern to our school record. 

“I think Division 2 was a very strong division. I think Division 1 is a strong division. Obviously you have to look at Derby who is 6A girl basketball powerhouse. We will be in their division twice a year so it’s a new challenge,” said Hamilton. “When we have a good teams we can go into any Division any league in the state and win games.”