For the fourth time in the last decade, East Marion will be reclassified with the Eagles set to be members of Class 2A once again in the 2025-27 period.
According to the MHSAA enrollment numbers, which were released Tuesday, East Marion’s 169 students slots them in a tie for the third-least populated 2A school in the new classification. During the 2023-25 period, East Marion had the highest enrollment out of any Class 1A school with 157 high school students.
The Eagles won’t be slotted into the exact same district that they were in during the 2021-23 period, though, as West Lincoln and Bogue Chitto both moved down to Class 1A. Loyd Star and Amite County remain in the class, and nearby schools such as Perry Central and Wesson are in play to be East Marion’s district mates, though districts have not been officially announced yet.
The status quo will remain the same for Columbia and West Marion, who will remain in Classes 4A and 3A, respectively.
Columbia’s district slate will look a lot different in the next period, as Purvis and Sumrall – two of the biggest thorns in the Wildcats’ side across all sports – will make the trip up to Class 5A. With Lawrence County and Forrest County AHS remaining at the same level, South Pike is a contender to be district mates with Columbia after moving up from Class 3A.
West Marion lost district mate Perry Central to Class 2A, but all other current members of Region 8-3A remain in Class 3A. Presbyterian Christian, the Hattiesburg-based private school who will make its debut at the MHSAA level after defecting from MAIS, would be an easy fill-in team in the district.
The C-P will provide further updates as they arrive regarding MHSAA regions for the next two-year period.
