Note: This is the second of a three-part series examining what Wyoming’s high school sports scene might look like in nine years. For Part 1, click here.
Welcome to 2023. Wyoming is booming. Mineral prices are steady and rising, giving the state a consistent flow of cash. The state has reinvested this cash flow into education, but with a certain mandate: smaller is better.
With that in mind, the state legislature passed legislation that said any community with an elementary school but without its own high school should have its own, as long as that school would support at least 25 students in 9-12. The state also passed legislation that said no community could have one high school have a 9-12 population larger than 2,000 students. In addition, all existing high schools are given the freedom to remain open no matter their student population.
In this dream scenario, every community that had the chance to build a high school took the opportunity. In all, 11 new high schools joined the state — and in the process, 11 new schools’ athletic programs came under the jurisdiction of the Wyoming High School Activities Association. Things are about to change for Wyoming’s high school sports landscape.
Bold schools are new; italicized schools had their enrollments affected by the new schools:
1. Rock Springs, 1,901
2/3/4. Cheyenne Central/East/South, 1,534
5/6. Gillette/Gillette Enzi, 1,457 (lost students to 4J)
7/8/9. Kelly Walsh/Natrona/Casper Mountain, 1,440
10. Laramie, 1,302
11. Sheridan, 1,136
12. Evanston, 920
13. Riverton, 911
14. Green River, 905
15. Jackson, 754 (lost students to Wilson, Alta, Kelly)
16. Cody, 667
17. Powell, 596
18. Rawlins, 582 (lost students to Sinclair)
19. Douglas, 556
20. Worland, 454
21. Lander, 426
22. Afton, 385 (lost students to Thayne)
23. Thayne, 384
24. Buffalo, 363
25. Pinedale, 343
26. Torrington, 339
27. Wheatland, 312
28. Lyman, 255
29. Mountain View, 248
30. Newcastle, 244
31. Lovell, 237
32. Kemmerer, 234
33. Glenrock, 230
34. Moorcroft, 196
35. Thermopolis, 179
36. Tongue River, 173
37. Big Piney, 169 (lost students to LaBarge)
38. Greybull, 162
39. Wright, 161
40. Wyoming Indian, 156
41. Wilson, 154
42. Burns, 132 (lost students to Carpenter)
43. Sundance, 120
44. Wind River, 119
45. Lusk, 118
46. Big Horn, 117
47. Shoshoni, 117
48. Rocky Mountain, 104
49. Saratoga, 90
50. Riverside, 86
51. Pine Bluffs, 81 (lost students to Albin)
52. Upton, 80
53. Lingle, 79
54. Southeast, 77
55. NSI, 76
56. Cokeville, 75
57. St. Stephens, 70
58. Burlington, 68
59. Hanna, 66
60. Guernsey, 64
61. Snake River, 62
62. Carpenter, 55
63. Encampment, 53
64. Dubois, 50
65. Midwest, 49
66. Kaycee, 45
67. Farson, 44
68. Albin, 42
69. Hulett, 38
70. LaBarge, 37
71. Alta, 34
72. Meeteetse, 29
73. Kelly, 27
74. Arvada-Clearmont, 26
75. Ten Sleep, 25
76. 4J, 25
77. Sinclair, 25
78. Chugwater, 20
79. Rock River, 17
80. Glendo, 12
In this scenario, two large schools — one in Gillette, one in Casper — open to meet the “fewer than 2,000” mandate. Star Valley splits to form two smaller 3A schools, one in Afton and one in Thayne. A 2A-sized school opens in Wilson, west of Jackson, and small schools open (or re-open) in Carpenter, Albin, LaBarge, Alta, Kelly, Sinclair and at the 4J school southwest of Gillette.
With more large schools, the WHSAA expands Class 4A football from 10 to 12 schools and adds conference play, but the remaining classifications stay at their current numbers. These conferences are built on the assumption that schools with 40 or more students will add football and join into their respective classifications.
Football conferences
Class 4A North: Gillette, Gillette Enzi, Kelly Walsh, Natrona, Casper Mountain, Sheridan.
Class 4A South: Rock Springs, Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne East, Cheyenne South, Laramie, Evanston.
Class 3A East: Riverton, Rawlins, Douglas, Worland, Lander, Buffalo.
Class 3A West: Green River, Jackson, Cody, Powell, Afton, Thayne.
(Or instead, a 3A North of Riverton, Cody, Powell, Douglas, Worland and Buffalo and a 3A South of Green River, Jackson, Rawlins, Lander, Afton and Thayne.)
Class 2A East: Torrington, Wheatland, Newcastle, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Thermopolis, Tongue River.
Class 2A West: Pinedale, Lyman, Mountain View, Lovell, Kemmerer, Big Piney, Greybull.
Class 1A 11-man Northeast: Wright, Sundance, Big Horn, Upton.
Class 1A 11-man Southeast: Burns, Lusk, Pine Bluffs, Lingle*, Southeast*.
Class 1A 11-man Northwest: Wind River, Shoshoni, Rocky Mountain, Riverside, Burlington*.
Class 1A 11-man Southwest: Wyoming Indian, Wilson, Saratoga, Cokeville*.
Class 1A six-man East: NSI, Guernsey, Carpenter, Midwest, Kaycee, Albin, Hulett, Rock River.
Class 1A six-man West: St. Stephens, Hanna, Snake River, Dubois, Farson, Meeteetse, Ten Sleep.
*-indicates schools opting up to 11-man from six-man.
Other sports see even more radical change. The WHSAA, realizing the large number of larger schools, expands 4A to 16 teams, but keeps 3A at 16 and 2A at 20. At 16 schools, 4A elects to go to quadrants, under the “smaller is better” mantra.
Conferences for other sports
Class 4A Northeast: Gillette, Gillette Enzi, Casper Mountain, Sheridan.
Class 4A Southeast: Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne East, Cheyenne South, Laramie.
Class 4A Northwest: Kelly Walsh, Natrona, Riverton, Cody.
Class 4A Southwest: Rock Springs, Evanston, Green River, Jackson.
Class 3A Northeast: Worland, Lander, Buffalo, Newcastle.
Class 3A Southeast: Rawlins, Douglas, Torrington, Wheatland.
Class 3A Northwest: Powell, Afton, Thayne, Lovell.
Class 3A Southwest: Pinedale, Lyman, Mountain View, Kemmerer.
Class 2A Northeast: Moorcroft, Tongue River, Sundance, Big Horn, Upton.
Class 2A Southeast: Glenrock, Wright, Burns, Lusk, Pine Bluffs.
Class 2A Northwest: Thermopolis, Greybull, Shoshoni, Rocky Mountain, Riverside.
Class 2A Southwest: Big Piney, Wyoming Indian, Wilson, Wind River, Saratoga.
Class 1A Northeast: NSI, Midwest, Kaycee, Hulett, Arvada-Clearmont, 4J.
Class 1A Southeast: Lingle, Southeast, Guernsey, Glendo, Carpenter, Albin, Rock River, Chugwater.
Class 1A Northwest: Burlington, Meeteetse, Ten Sleep, St. Stephens, Dubois, Alta, Kelly.
Class 1A Southwest: Cokeville, Hanna, Snake River, Encampment, Farson, LaBarge, Sinclair.
Even completely maxed out, Wyoming caps at 80 high schools. A couple more could be stretched out here — Rozet Elementary pulls from eastern reaches of Gillette and would be at 204 students, while Poison Spider tugs on western Casper and could be a high school with 98 students, including students from other rural western Natrona elementaries. Still, the state is still well short of the number of high schools seen in neighboring states.
But this comes about only with financial excess. What happens if Wyoming goes through a bust the next 10 years instead of a boom?
Tomorrow: What if: Wyoming reduces its high school options?
–patrick