Who's Who in Virginia

Private schools in Virginia compete under the cognizance of the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association (VISAA). The VISAA, essentially, is the sanctioning body that sets the rules and standards under which member schools and athletes compete. The schools have divided themselves into 13 various leagues around the state. In general, boys and girls compete in different leagues. For example, at the Collegiate School in Richmond, the boys compete in the Virginia Prep League (VPL) while the girls compete in the League of Independent Schools (LIS). Additionally, some schools compete in different leagues for different sports. For example, Benedictine is wrestling in the Cavalier Athletic Conference (CAC) this year, but competes as an Independent in other sports. Another oddity is that schools can be in multiple conferences. The boys’ teams at Norfolk Academy compete in both the VPL and the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools (TCIS). Just when you thought you had it squared-away…there also are different divisions based on size, D1 through D3, and schools can have different teams in different divisions. Fortunately, wrestling does not differentiate by division, although the highest ranking small school is recognized at the VIS State Tournament. Finally, some schools in Northern Virginia compete in multi-state leagues. Bishop O’Connell is in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC). This league includes schools in DC and Maryland.

In addition to private school competition, most schools also compete against public schools in tournaments and dual meets. There is not, however, an overall combined championship. That is, the VIS State Championship includes only VISAA member schools. During the season, these schools may decide a champion based on dual meet results, but this is not the case with all leagues. Moreover, most leagues also hold a League Tournament which is followed by the State Tournament. Wrestlers who qualify at States by finishing in the top four can then compete in the National Prep Tournament at Lehigh University.

Who competes at the Nationals is another oddity of private school competition. You’d think that if you are a private school, you’d be able to do so. It is not that simple. The Prep Tournament was set-up to provide a championship for private schools that do not compete in an overall state championship with public schools. Some private schools and private school leagues choose to compete in the public school championships and thus abide by the rules governing public schools. Others, for reasons of historical precedent, aversion to certain restrictions or contentment with the existing infrastructure choose to remain independent. Take New Jersey for example. Parochial schools have historically been part of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Althetic Association (NJSIAA). These schools do not compete at Nationals. St. Benedict’s School (a Catholic school in Newark) however, recently switched over to the New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association (NJISAA) and has since competed at the National Prep Tournament. Similarly, Blair Academy is in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) and it is a member of the New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association (NJISAA). Pennsylvania is set-up in a very similar way. About 200 private schools compete in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). These schools do not go to the National Prep Tournament. At the same time, there are about 100 members in the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS); Germantown Academy and Wyoming Seminary are but two. These schools compete at Nationals. Similarly, the 20 team Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) also sends teams, such at LaSalle College High School, to Nationals. The PCL, however, will join the PIAA for the 2008-2009 season. Under the current standards the PCL teams will no longer compete in the National Prep Tournament after the 2007-2008 season.

Back to Virginia…

There are seven leagues in Virginia that compete in wrestling. In Northern Virginia there are three: the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC), and the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC). These three conferences are comprised of schools from Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland. The WCAC and IAC, generally, have bigger schools while the MAC contains smaller schools. Conference schools that compete in wrestling are listed below.

WCAC: Bishop Ireton, Bishop O'Connell, Paul VI (VA), Gonzaga College High School (DC), Our Lady of Good Counsel (DC), St. John's College High School (DC), Bishop McNamara (MD), DeMatha Catholic (MD), and St. Mary's Ryken (MD).

IAC: Episcopal High School, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes, Georgetown Prep (DC), St. Albans (DC), Bullis (MD), and the Landon School (MD).

MAC: The Potomac School, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (MD), St. James School (MD), Maret School (DC), Sidwell Friends (DC), and Georgetown Day School (DC).

In the Northwestern part of the state are three conferences. These are the Delaney Athletic Conference (DAC), which encompasses schools from Front Royal to Fredericksburg, the Cavalier Athletic Conference (CAC), which is primarily located around Charlottesville, and the Virginia Independent Conference (VIC) which is based in the environs of Lynchburg and Roanoke.

DAC: Randolph-Macon Academy and Tandem Friends CAC: Blue Ridge School, Massanutten Military School, and BenedictineVIC: Virginia Episcopal School, Hargrave Military School, Fishburne Military School The Miller School, The Covenant School, Liberty Christian Academy. North Cross School and Roanoke Catholic.

The central region of the state has the Virginia Prep League (VPL). This league is geographically dispersed from Charlottesville to Norfolk inclusive of Richmond.

VPL: St. Christopher’s School, Collegiate School, Woodberry Forest School, Fork Union Military Academy and Norfolk Academy.

In the East, there is the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools (TCIS) based in and around Norfolk.

TCIS: Norfolk Academy, Bishop Sullivan Catholic, Norfolk Collegiate, Cape Henry Collegiate and Peninsula Catholic.