Kinnelon’s athletic teams will be the proverbial “big fish in a small pond” this school year.  The Colts dropped from Group II to Group I in the classification released by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).

With a school population of 487 (the total number of students in grades 10 through 12, as per NJSIAA rules), Kinnelon will be the largest Group I school in the entire state.  The school returns to the group for New Jersey’s smallest public schools after spending only one year in Group II.

Kinnelon joins Boonton and Butler as Jersey Sports Now area teams in Group I for 2008-09.  Pompton Lakes moved up to Group II after being in the smaller bracket last year.

The move could help the Colts when it comes time for the state tournament.  For example, last fall the Kinnelon boys’ soccer team was seeded third in its section, but fell in the semifinals to Tenafly, one of the largest Group II schools in the state (the Tigers moved up to Group III for the coming year).

In certain sports that have their own classifications, such as football and wrestling, Kinnelon competed in Group I in 2007-08.  That won’t change this year.

Kinnelon’s most-successful team won’t be affected at all by the change.  The Colts won the state title last winter in ice hockey’s Public Group B.  Ice hockey is one of the few NJSIAA sports in which public schools do not compete in four different groups