By Julia Lindbloom

Messenger Staff Writer

Placer High will remain in the Pioneer Valley League after a vote by the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section “Watch List Committee” of 5-2 to keep Placer in the PVL and out of CAL (Capital Athletic League) until at least 2018. This league change would place Placer in division III athletics instead of division VI.
CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Director of Communications, Will DeBoard, stated “Placer was put into the position to be potentially moved because it has completely dominated the league, and at the same time is also one of the largest schools in its league.”
While some celebrate others are disappointed. While Placer is not the largest school in its league, with a total enrollment of 1,360, it has won 23 of 31 PVL titles over the past 2 years and “domination” is an appropriate description of Hillman athletic success.
Colfax High swimmer, Julianna Eichenhofer stated, “I don’t think they [Placer] should be in our league because they are such a large school and it sometimes becomes an uneven match up.”
Colfax High swimmer Chloe Ljube disagreed, “I liked having Placer as a rivalry so I feel bad for the kids after 2018 because they’ll never have the Colfax vs. Placer rivalry experience.”
Many current Placer students have younger siblings that may not “have the Colfax vs. Placer rivalry” that they enjoyed. If Placer did move to CAL they could expect to play Casa Roble, Christian Brothers, El Camino, Rio Americano, and Vista Del Lago. However with a vote of 5-2 it’s easy to see that it will take some convincing to switch leagues.
DeBoard plainly stated, “The CAL didn’t want to have Placer join it and Placer wanted stay where it was as well. It’s unfortunate that the league and Placer didn’t really want to compete at a higher level, but so be it. Basically, at this point, all things stay the same and we move forward.”
The only school remotely close to Placer’s athletic success would be Bear River who has won 7 PVL titles to Placer’s 23. Clearly, some eyebrows have been raised and the “Watch List Committee” began to investigate a possible swap between Placer and the small school, Mira Loma.
Mira Loma is a small school in the CAL league that was considered a replacement in the PVL for Placer but adamantly refused to switch leagues. Although they are larger than Placer as far as enrollment they have a weaker sports program and tend to focus on education. However, they wish to use the competition in the CAL and continue to improve their growing sports program.
Regardless of what happens Placer will remain in the PVL for another 3 years before the CIF SJS will reassess the situation. In whatever league the Hillman play they will continue to have their traditions to uphold their success and the legacy of Placer athletics will surge on.