By BY BRUCE HIXON – SPORTS EDITOR
Depending on the sport, T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal enjoyed mixed results this past school year in Class 4A competition after both competed in Class 3A last year.
T.R. Miller football was a region runner-up and state semifinalist in 2005 as a Class 3A member. This past season in Class 4A the Tigers won a three-way tie with Thomasville and W.S. Neal (after Escambia County forfeited four region games) for the region championship. T.R. Miller lost in the second round of playoff competition.
W.S. Neal football finished fifth in region play in 2005 in Class 3A and missed the playoffs. As previously mentioned, the Blue Eagles finished in a three-way tie for first in region play last fall and advanced to the second round of the playoffs in Class 4A.
T.R. Miller volleyball won the Area Tournament and was eliminated in the regional round in 2005 in Class 3A. In 2006, the Lady Tigers were Area runner-up and advanced to the state's new sub-state round. T.R. Miller would have had the same postseason exit in 2006 if the 2005 postseason format had been used.
W.S. Neal volleyball went two and out in the 2005 Area tournament as a 3A school and one-and-out this past season in Class 4A. The postseason format was also different at that level of postseason, as 2005 was double elimination and 2006 was single elimination.
T.R. Miller girls basketball was the 3A Area Tournament champion in 2006 in Class 3A, won the sub-state round and was eliminated in the first round of regional competition. The Lady Tigers were Area runner-up in 2007 and lost in the sub-state round in Class 4A.
W.S. Neal girls basketball lost in the first round of Area Tournament play in both 2006 in Class 3A and 2007 in 4A.
T.R. Miller boys basketball was the Area runner-up and lost in the sub-state round in Class 3A in 2006. The Tigers were Area, sub-state and regional champions in 2007 when they advanced to Class 4A's Final Four.
W.S. Neal boys basketball lost in the first round of Area play in 2006 in Class 3A and again in the first round of Area play in 2007 in Class 4A.
T.R. Miller baseball was the Area champion and advanced to the state quarterfinals as a 3A school in 2006. The Tigers were Area runner-up and lost in the first round of playoff competition in Class 4A this spring.
W.S. Neal baseball was the Area runner-up and lost in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs in 2006. This spring the Blue Eagles were on the losing end of the second place Area tiebreaker and did not make the playoffs in Class 4A.
T.R. Miller softball won the Class 3A Area Tournament and advanced to the second round of sub-state competition in 2006.
The Lady Tigers were Area runner-up and lost in the first round of sub-state as a Class 4A school in 2007.
W.S. Neal softball went two-and-out in the 2006 Class 3A Area Tournament and the 2007 Class 4A Area Tournament.
T.R. Miller boys track won the Class 3A state championship and finished fifth in the 2007 Class 4A state meet.
W.S. Neal's boys finished seventh at the 2006 3A state meet and 11th at the 2007 4A state meet.
T.R. Miller's girls were 14th at the 2006 3A state meet
and 17th at the 2007 4A state meet.
W.S. Neal's girls were seventh at the 2006 3A state meet and 25th at the 2007 4A state meet.
T.R. Miller boys tennis finished third in the Class 1A-3A sectional tournament and first in the Class 4A sectional. T.R. Miller girls tennis was fourth
in the 1A-3A 2006 sectional and third in the 2007 4A sectional.
While the higher the class generally means a little tougher level of competition, there are a lot of factors to be considered besides just postseason results.
Regional and Area alignment changes every two years. Some schools move up in classification, while others move down. Teams are affected by graduation in different ways from year-to-year. Postseason draws also change.