FHSAA releases preliminary 2022-23 districts for Northeast Florida basketball, soccer, more

clayton freeman, florida times-union

Wed, Sep 14, 2022, 10:33 AM·6 min read

Jackson guard Joseph Bargeron (10) goes up for a shot as Paxon forward Saryn Hatcher (21) defends during the Gateway Conference high school boys basketball final on January 28, 2022. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]

Two months from the start of winter sports, the basketball, soccer and wrestling seasons are taking shape across the First Coast.

The Florida High School Athletic Association released statewide classifications Tuesday for winter sports. The new district alignments will take effect for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

The classifications reflect a traditional breakdown by school enrollment and do not include a Metro/Suburban component, which applies to high school football only.

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The FHSAA designated the following boundaries for classes:

Boys and girls basketball: Class 7A (2,321-4,843), Class 6A (1,819-2,320), Class 5A (1,440-1,818), Class 4A (787-1,439), Class 3A (284-786), Class 2A (38-283) and Class 1A (65-600).

Boys and girls soccer: Class 7A (2,365-4,843), Class 6A (1,869-2,364), Class 5A (1,509-1,868), Class 4A (961-1,508), Class 3A (377-960) and Class 2A (62-376).

Boys wrestling: Class 3A (2,093-4,843), Class 2A (1,500-2,092), Class 1A (65-1,400).

Girls weightlifting: Class 3A (1,959-4,123), Class 2A (1,263-1,958), Class 1A (90-1,262).

Competitive cheerleading is allocated by region, and girls wrestling competes in a single class.

The highlights are many.

The powerful private-school boys hoops district remains in District 3-3A, with Bishop Snyder, Episcopal and Providence all grouped together.
Bradford, which won the Class 1A boys basketball championship last winter, moves into Class 3A.
District 3-4A shapes up as Northside vs. Nassau: Four-time repeat final four squad Jackson now takes on regional rivals Raines and Ribault, plus the Nassau County trio of Fernandina Beach, West Nassau and Yulee.
St. Johns County's newest schools, Beachside and Tocoi Creek, will now be district rivals in both basketball and soccer. The basketball district also includes Bishop Kenny, Bolles, Paxon and Wolfson in what might be one of the area's deepest, particularly on the boys side.
Soccer's District 3-6A, already loaded with Fleming Island, Ponte Vedra and girls state champion Fletcher, now adds Oakleaf after the Knights' move from Class 7A.
The area's traditional wrestling powers, Clay and Fleming Island, now carry their rivalry into head-to-head competition in District 4-2A.

The district alignments may not be final. Schools can appeal their FHSAA classifications through Sept. 23.

Here are the preliminary districts for Northeast Florida for the next two years.

BOYS BASKETBALL, 2022-23 & 2023-24

District 1-7A: Atlantic Coast, Bartram Trail, Creekside, Flagler Palm Coast, Mandarin, Sandalwood.

District 3-6A: First Coast, Fleming Island, Fletcher, Nease, Oakleaf, Orange Park, Ponte Vedra.

District 2-5A: Baker County, Clay, Columbia, Middleburg, Tallahassee Rickards, Ridgeview.

District 3-5A: Englewood, Parker, Riverside, Stanton, Westside, White.

District 4-5A: Deltona, Daytona Beach Mainland, Menendez, Pine Ridge, Daytona Beach Seabreeze, St. Augustine.

District 3-4A: Fernandina Beach, Jackson, Raines, Ribault, West Nassau, Yulee.

District 4-4A: Beachside, Bishop Kenny, Bolles, Paxon, Tocoi Creek, Wolfson.

District 5-4A: Gainesville Eastside, Keystone Heights, North Marion, Palatka, Alachua Santa Fe, Suwannee.

District 2-3A: Bradford, Interlachen, P.K. Yonge, Taylor County, Ocala Trinity Catholic.

District 3-3A: Baldwin, Bishop Snyder, Episcopal, Providence, Trinity Christian.

District 2-2A: Beaches Chapel, Covenant School, Eagle's View, Harvest Community, North Florida Educational, Parsons Christian, Seacoast Christian.

District 3-2A: Christ's Church, First Coast Christian, Florida Deaf, Impact Christian, St. Johns Country Day, St. Joseph, University Christian.

District 5-1A: Branford, Quincy Crossroad Academy, Hamilton County, Hilliard, Mayo Lafayette, Madison County.

District 6-1A: Bell, Fort White, Hawthorne, Newberry, Union County.

GIRLS BASKETBALL, 2022-23 & 2023-24

Orange Park's Eris Lester (4) is guarded by Pine Forest's Ti'yuenah Robinson (33) as Makevia House (21), left, looks on during the first quarter of a FHSAA Region 1-5A girls basketball championship game Friday, Feb. 18, 2022 at Orange Park High School in Orange Park. The Pine Forest Eagles knocked off the Orange Park Raiders 70-55. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]