By Moses Leos III

Two familiar foes and several new challengers await the Hays and Lehman athletic programs as they were cast into what could be one of the more vaunted districts in the Austin area. 

Both Hays CISD schools will join Lake Travis, Westlake, Vista Ridge, Leander and Vandegrift in the new District 25-6A. 

Each school learned its fate as the UIL completed its biennial realignment process for the 2016-2018 school years. The realignment encompasses football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and track and field. 

Hays and Lehman, which rose to the 6A ranks in 2014, will stay in the classification based on snapshot enrollments taken in November 2015.  

In November, Hays reported to have 2,698 students, while Lehman had 2,478 students. The schools met the 6A classification’s cutoff of 2,150 students and above. 

But Monday’s selection into 25-6A came as a surprise to Lehman High athletic coordinator Todd Raymond. He said he anticipated a possible move into a district with San Marcos and New Braunfels area schools. 

Raymond said the UIL’s decision to move Hays and Lehman further north “didn’t make any sense.” 

Hays and Lehman participate in District 14-6A, which currently houses Austin, Bowie, Anderson, Del Valle, Lake Travis and Westlake. 

He cited how Hays and Lehman were “sandwiched” between schools in the new District 14-6A, but were not included in the district. 

The new District 14-6A consists of San Marcos, Manor, Bowie, Anderson, Del Valle and Akins.  

“It blows your mind,” Raymond said. “There were a lot of scenarios, but this wasn’t on my radar.” 

For Raymond, the largest concern hovered around travel times, which he said would be “brutal.” Freshman and junior varsity athletics may have to schedule earlier departure times to accommodate the travel changes, Raymond said. 

“I’m more concerned about more travel time and the loss of instruction time for our kids because of it,” Raymond said. “That apart blows everyone’s mind.” 

Costs could also be a large factor for the district, which budgeted a limited amount for athletic travel in 2016. 

“We’ll have to sit down and talk about things from a budgetary (standpoint),” Raymond said. “To make sure we’re allocating things the right way.”

While players were initially shocked by the news, Raymond said many were ready for the challenge. 

“It will be a little bit of a challenge for sure,” Raymond said. “But it’s 6A ball.”