Eastside High School was denied its appeal to move down from Class 5-A to Class 4-A as part of the SCHSL’s new realignment plan beginning in 2026-27.
Higher-ups at the school’s athletic department proposed a plan to the SCHSL Executive Committee on Tuesday morning as to why the school should be moved down to 4-A.
Eastside, which is one of the smallest Class 5-A schools as it stands, had its appeal denied by a vote of 14-1.
Eastside officials argued that the school is impartially affected by the 3x multiplier (students from out-of-zone attending a school count as three students) and that EHS has almost 2,000 fewer actual students attending than the biggest 5-A school — Dorman.
School officials pointed to the competitive disadvantages the issue brings with depth on rosters at both the varsity and sub-varsity levels. Eastside athletic director Jack Kosmicki said it was “demoralizing” to athletes going in on an “uneven playing field” and that some students were going to other schools for athletics for this reason.
The Executive Committee pointed to the fact that Eastside has won state championships and been competitive in several sports since its original move to 5-A in 2024-25. Those sports include wrestling, boys and girls swimming, and girls soccer. Kosmicki argued that the area feeder programs have been the key to those programs’ success, and that other sports have struggled with the class jump to 5-A.
Eastside can appeal the ruling to the SCHSL appellate panel on Thursday or Friday of this week. Classifications and regions are set to be finalized by Jan. 23.
For more coverage of Greer-area athletics, follow @GreerNewsSports on X.
