Seamount League, we hardly knew ye.

A change in classifications, based on enrollment, will most likely lead to the disbanding of the local high school sports league after this season as the schools of the Seamount League look to join other local sports conferences.

In Renton, Hazen has opted-up to a 4A classification and will join the newly re-formed North Puget Sound League while Renton and Lindbergh will most likely play next year in the South Puget Sound League.

Renton Athletic Director Brian Kaelin said the district considered multiple options before making this move, including staying in a seven-team Seamount (with Kennedy leaving for the new league) with Hazen as the only 3A school, applying to a league to the north, such as KingCo – which would mean a switch from WIAA District 3 to District 2 – or applying to league to the south.

“After weighing these options we felt Hazen moving to the NPSL and Lindbergh and Renton applying to the South Puget Sound League 2A was the best course of action for our programs,” Kaelin said in an email.

Despite the switching of leagues, Kaelin said the goal is for the three schools to continue to play against each other, as they have in the past.

Though the NPSL is a 4A league, 12 of the 16 schools involved have opted-up, so, like Hazen, most are actually 3A in size. Kennedy Catholic, a 2A school, has also opted up to the NPSL.

Kaelin said the size difference was taken into consideration, but the large number of 3A schools in the league meant the Highlanders would remain competitive.

The other schools in the NPSL will be: Tahoma, Kentridge, Kent-Meridian, Kentwood, Thomas Jefferson, Todd Beamer, Mt. Rainier, Auburn, Auburn Riverside, Auburn Mountainview, Federal Way, Kentlake, Decatur and Enumclaw.

The old NPSL disbanded in 1990.

If Renton and Lindbergh’s application is accepted, and it is expected to be, they would join the following schools in the SPSL: Franklin Pierce, Clover Park, White River, River Ridge, Fife, Washington, Foss, Steilacoom, Orting and Eatonville. Renton will be the largest school in the league, Lindbergh third.

Highline and Tukwila schools will join the KingCo Conference, where Liberty plays.

The reclassifications, which will be in place for the 2016-2020 school years, will not be finalized until the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Executive Board approves the list of 384 schools during its January 24-25 meeting.

“The new leagues include many of the same schools so there will likely be some renewed rivalries. We also anticipate some new rivalries developing,” Kaelin said. “We know that change can bring on some anxiety. We also know there will be some challenges along the way. We hope that everyone will keep an open mind as things play out.”