Sarah Finnegan
Chelsea Soccer State Championship 2017
Chelsea girls compete in the AHSAA Soccer State Championship against Southside-Gasdsen on May 13, 2017 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Al. The Hornets went on to win the state title by defeating Southside 2-0.
The Alabama High School Athletic Association approved its classification system for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years on Thursday.
Many of the local high school athletic teams were affected slightly, remaining in the same classification but inheriting a handful of new faces in their respective areas and regions.
Spain Park and Oak Mountain will endure slight changes beginning next year. Each will remain in Class 7A, the state's highest classification, and in Region 3 in football. The only change to Region 3 will be Hewitt-Trussville replacing Huffman, which dropped back down to 6A after a two-year stint. Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County all remain in the region as well.
In basketball, Spain Park will stay in Area 6 and will be joined by Hewitt-Trussville, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills. Oak Mountain is currently in Area 6, but will move to Area 5 next year in an essential swap with Vestavia.
Oak Mountain will be in Area 5 with Hoover, Thompson and Tuscaloosa County.
Chelsea remains in 6A but has moved to a more local region in football, Region 5. The Hornets will face Carver-Birmingham, Helena, Pelham, Homewood, Minor and Jackson-Olin.
In basketball, Chelsea will stay in Area 8 with Pelham and Helena, with Calera joining the area as well.
Briarwood will remain in 5A, but move from Region 5 to Region 4. Fairfield, Pleasant Grove, Wenonah and Woodlawn remain consistent region opponents, in addition to John Carroll, Parker and Ramsay, all of which were dropped from 6A to 5A.
Basketball will look completely different for the Lions, as they will now be in Area 8 with Ramsay, John Carroll and Woodlawn.
Briarwood will experience a slight change in tennis, as the AHSAA implemented a new competitive balance points system for this cycle for private schools. Due to the Lions' recent success, the tennis teams will now compete in Class 6A.
For Spain Park, Oak Mountain, Chelsea and Briarwood, nearly every other sport looks similar to the football and basketball regions and areas.
The complete classification system can be found at ahsaa.com.