The South Carolina High School League released region placements for the 2026-28 realignment cycle, and both Lancaster and Indian Land landed in unexpected placements.

Both schools anticipated being grouped with York County opponents but instead were assigned to a region centered in Columbia, with AC Flora, Dreher, Lugoff-Elgin, Richland Northeast and Westwood.

Region 3 in 4A was Catawba Ridge, Clover, Lake Wylie, Legion Collegiate, Nation Ford, South Pointe and York.

For Lancaster, travel time to each of those four schools will approach or exceed an hour, not accounting for traffic within Lancaster County or delays related to bus travel.

Indian Land faces even longer commutes, with travel times to region opponents expected to be at least 90 minutes each way.

The Warriors were initially placed in Class 5A before successfully appealing to move down to Class 4A. That appeal centered on concerns that competing in the state’s largest classification would result in student-athletes missing excessive instructional time because of travel demands.

Those concerns are now heightened given the newly assigned region.

Schools have until Feb. 1 to appeal their region placements, with hearings scheduled for Feb. 3-5. Both Indian Land and Lancaster are expected to file appeals.

Buford, newly classified in Class 1A, was placed in a region with Blacksburg, Fairfield Central, Great Falls, Lewisville, Midlands STEM and Riverwalk.

Andrew Jackson was assigned to Region 3-2A alongside Chester, Columbia, Keenan, Mid-Carolina, Newberry and York Prep.

January 23, 2026 | Lancaster News, The (SC)
Author/Byline: Andrew Chodes Achodes@thelancasternews.com | Section: Sports