Indian Land wins appeal, Dreher loses. What happens next?
The South Carolina High School League’s executive committee denied Dreher High’s appeal but approved Indian Land’s request regarding realignment classification on Wednesday.
The committee voted 14-1 to deny Dreher’s request to move from Class 4A to Class 3A for the 2026-2028 realignment. Dreher athletic director Daryl Jarvis told The State the school will appeal before the appellate panel, a final chance for schools to win their appeals.
This week was the first time schools could appeal their placement in realignment, a process that happens in the state every two years and is done to level the competitive playing field among schools.
After the second round of appeals, the league will begin region placement and will send out region assignments on Jan. 23. Appeals for region placement will begin Feb. 3.
This year’s realignment included an out-of-zone multiplier for the second time. The out-of-zone multiplier took each student who lives outside of a school’s assigned attendance zone and counted them as three for total enrollment purposes. The result inflated schools’ official enrollment figures and, in some cases, raised schools up one or multiple levels in classification for athletics.
Dreher’s appeal centered on that most of its out-of-district students weren’t at the school for athletics. Dreher principal Joe Eberlin said only 25 of its 188 out-of-district students played sports.
Dreher athletic director Daryl Jarvis also petitioned to show that the competitive factor and Blue Devils would be more suited for 3A.
“You know I am competitor, but we are talking about kids and safety. 3A is a more competitive field for us. 4A, we haven’t done very well and don’t field the same amount of numbers,” Jarvis said. “We finish in the bottom of most of the sports except some of our spring sports. If we get past the first round, that is about it.
SCHSL executive committee member Steven Sawyer disagreed with that claim and said “I don’t see any evidence that (Dreher) can’t compete in 4A.”
Indian Land’s appeal for Class 4A
The committee voted 11-4 in favor of granting Indian Land High’s request to move from Class 5A to Class 4A.
Indian Land is one of the fastest growing schools, moving from Class 2A to 5A in the last 10 years. Indian Land was in Class 5A Division II this year.
Indian Land was 39th of 40 schools in the proposed Class 5A.
Indian Land’s argument was based on loss of classroom time and travel time dealing with the traffic and growth in the area, which hasn’t caught up with the infrastructure. Indian Land doesn’t begin school until after 9 a.m. and ends at 4:10 p.m. every day because of bus transportation.
Then there was the issue of traffic in Lancaster County and growth, which makes it hard on travel, something committee member Matthew Hiers agreed with in the discussion.
“I would rather drive through Times Square than drive through Indian Land,” Hiers said. “The population is growing faster than the infrastructure resulting into the later arriving at school which is beyond their control. Due to the numbers and where they land in 5A, they are right on the cusp and considering the factor with the local schools, I am in favor of the motion.”
Committee member Steven Sawyer also added that they weren’t in 5A classification because of the multiplier or that they were looking to get a competitive advantage.
Gray Collegiate’s and Brookland-Cayce’s appeals
Gray Collegiate and Brookland-Cayce were both denied appeals Tuesday regarding the S.C. High School League’s realignment plan for 2026-28.
The league’s executive committee denied Gray Collegiate by a 9-6 vote, while B-C was denied 8-7. Both schools were appealing to move down in classification. Gray Collegiate principal Brian Newsome and B-C athletic director Louis Clyburn have told The State their schools plan to appeal.
It looked like Gray and B-C had a chance to win their appeals Tuesday, and a motion to approve their requests was on the table but eventually denied.
Gray Collegiate was appealing its move up from Class 4A to 5A. Gray, a public charter school in West Columbia, has had a lot of success in athletics over the past decade.
Gray moved up from 2A to 4A in the last realignment (2024-26) and won state titles last year in competitive cheer and softball. This school year, Gray’s football team made it to the state semifinal and the basketball team is ranked No. 1 in 4A.
The school opened a second campus in Irmo this year, but Newsome said there were less than 60 students there between grades 9-11, which are counted against the multiplier.
While they have no problem being in Class 4A, Newsome and athletic director Kevin Heise cited safety concerns because of the size of their schools compared to others in Class 5A.
Newsome said Gray, with an attendance of 610, would be in 2A without the multiplier and would be the only school moved up three classifications since the last realignment in 2022-24.
“Extraordinary circumstances for us,” Newsome said. “... No way a school of 610 kids should be in 5A.”
Brookland-Cayce’s appeal wasn’t based on its size but rather travel concerns. If it stayed in 4A, B-C would travel over an hour to likely Aiken County schools, possibly, that would be in the region.
If B-C was in 3A, it would be likely facing teams closer in proximity, including district rival Airport, Gilbert and Camden.
“No way, shape or form, is this appeal based on competition,” Clyburn said. “It is about travel and would benefit not only us then the other teams in 3A.”
Classification appeals decisions
Schools appealing (Will be updated with results of those appeals as they happen)
Wednesday Appeals
Dreher: Denied (14-1) to go from Class 4A to Class 3A.
Indian Land: Approved (11-4) to go from Class 5A to Class 4A.
Hilton Head Island: Denied (11-4) to go from Class 4A to Class 3A.
Wade Hampton: Approved (11-4) to go from Class 5A to Class 4A.
Beaufort HS: Denied (16-0) to go from Class 4A to Class 3A.
Greer Middle College: Denied (8-7) to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
Green Upstate: Approved (15-2) to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
South Florence: Denied (15-2) to go from Class 5A to Class 4A.
West Florence: Denied (17-0) to go from Class 5A to Class 4A.
Marlboro County: Approved (15-1) to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
Blacksburg: Denied (9-7) to go from Class 2A to Class A.
Pendleton: Denied (13-1) to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
Palmetto Scholars: Approved (13-0) to go from Class 2A to Class A.
Brashier Middle College: Denied (11-2) to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
Tuesday Appeals
Christ Church: Denied (12-2) to go from Class 3A to 2A
Eastside: Denied to go from Class 5A to 4A
Brookland-Cayce: Denied (8-7) to go from Class 4A to Class 3A
Gray Collegiate: Denied (9-6) to go from Class 5A to Class 4A
Fox Creek: Denied (10-6) to go from Class 4A to Class 3A.
Central: Approved (14-2) to go from Class 2A to Class A.
Greenville Tech Charter: Appeal tied 8-8 to move from Class 4A to 2A. In case of a tie, it fails.
Legacy Early College: Denied appeal (13-3) to go from Class 3A to 2A.
Bridges Prep: Denied appeal (14-2) to go from Class 3A to 2A.
Charleston Charter School for Math and Science: Approved (14-2) to go from Class 2A to Class A.
James Island Charter: Denied appeal (15-1) to go from Class 5A to Class 4A.
Lucy Beckham: Denied appeal (14-2) to go from Class 5A to Class 4A.
Loris: Denied appeal (12-3) to go from Class 3A to Class 2A.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 10:56 AM.
