Having won five Section III titles in the last six years, reached four state finals and won two state championships, the Cazenovia boys lacrosse team will not add to those totals – at least not at the Class C level, anyway.
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association, during their meetings last week at the Turning Stone resort, approved the expansion of boys lacrosse from three to four classes, starting with the 2017 season.
New BEDS numbers define Class A as any enrollment 1,050 or higher. Class B covers enrollment of 750 to 1,049, Class C from 425 to 749 and Class D is anyone 425 or lower.
Thanks to those numbers, Cazenovia, whose enrollment is under 425, is now part of the newly created Class D. Joining them are 15 other schools once part of Class C, including noted lacrosse programs at LaFayette, Skaneateles, Christian Brothers Academy and Westhill.
Those same numbers keep another local program, Chittenango, in Class C, joined by, among others, Jamesville-DeWitt, who won last spring’s state Class B title. Just six schools remain in Class B, while Class A is relatively unchanged.
What this also does is change the structure of the state tournament. Previously, state semifinals for West (Section III, IV, V and VI) and East regions were all held in a single venue, with three games in one day.
Now those semifinals will go to two venues, with two games held at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium and the other two at St. John Fisher College near Rochester, also the venue for the state title games for the next three years.
Up until 1986, there was just one state champion for boys lacrosse. Class B was added that year, with Class C introduced in 2000. Cazenovia won state Class C titles in 2011 and 2013 and lost in the state finals in 2014 and 2015.
