By Travis Klein / Perry High School
Ever since it was established as an official Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) school, Perry High has always been known as a smaller school. Hamilton, Chandler and even Basha have looked down upon the Pumas as a little insect, just trying to survive all the hype that the first three CUSD schools have created.
For all the Pumas out there, those days of getting looked down upon will soon be long gone.
Coming into the 2012-13 school year, Perry has surpassed the 2,500 student mark, which means that next year, they will enter Division I for sports. They will be in the same league as Hamilton, Chandler and even Basha (whom Perry beat in every varsity match/game last year).
Principal Dan Serrano hinted around the fact that as of next year (the 2013-14 school year), Perry will become a part of Division I. Sure, Perry has competed against Chandler and Basha in sporting events in the past, but now the Pumas will be in the same division as them.
Think of it like this: when interleague play in Major League Baseball commences, teams from the American and National leagues come together and play games against each other only one time of the year. Sure, they do not necessarily mean much besides overall record and bragging rights for both leagues, but that does not mean it is a waste of time.
Jumping back to Perry, they were once the lone American league team playing against the National league teams (Basha, Hamilton and Chandler) for bragging rights. However, they are now apart of the same divisions of those three schools, which means that every game or match competed against them will not only affect their overall record, it will also affect their overall division record.
Yes, many argue that Perry is still growing and has a long way to go before they are even mentioned in the same sentence as the other three schools, but then again, who doesn’t like an underdog?
