Iola Accepts Offer to Join Pioneer League
By Jeff Gulley
The Pioneer League has found a replacement for Jayhawk-Linn beginning in 2012.
The Iola Register reported in its Nov. 10 edition that Iola is leaving the Southeast Kansas League and will be joining the Pioneer League beginning with the 2012-2013 season.
“We feel real good about it,” Osawatomie principal Doug Chisam said. “We feel like Iola is a good fit for our league. They are a lot like us. They want to feel like they have a chance to compete. We know their administration and we feel like they bring with them some of the same value of sportsmanship that the Pioneer League already has.”
Iola will replace Jayhawk-Linn which announced its intention last year to move back to the Three Rivers League. The Jayhawks were the league’s only Class 2A team.
Iola was one of the eight original members of the SEK, which was established in its current form in 1927. Other Southeast Kansas League teams include Fort Scott, Chanute, Coffeyville-Field Kindley, Columbus, Independence, Parson, Pittsburg and Labette County. Iola was the smallest school in the league.
The Register’s report sited the benefit of the academic competitions that the Pioneer League offers such as band and art as reasons for the change.
The decision to switch leagues was approved unanimously.
Its been four years since Osawatomie, Anderson County, Prairie View, Wellsville and Central Heights broke away from the 13-team Frontier League and added Jayhawk-Linn to form a six-team league.
Using this year’s numbers, Iola with 371 students, would be the largest school in the league.
“Most of the Pioneer League school already play Iola in some sports and they have hosted quite a few regional and substate events so we feel real comfortable with them,” Chisam said. “Adding the sixth team just solidify’s the league. Ideally we would like to have seven or eight teams but we are solid with six.”
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Posted by admin
on Nov 17 2010. Filed under News and Updates.
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