Get ready, because Damien High School and St. Lucy’s Priory will once again be coming to a league near you.

The two schools won their arbitration hearing against the CIF-Southern Section on Friday and will be headed back to the Mt. SAC Area for playoff grouping rather than being placed in a parochial grouping.

Damien and St. Lucy’s along with Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure took to the legal system last spring after they were placed in the parochial area and put into new leagues for the new re-leaguing cycle that runs 2014-16.

Damien and St. Lucy’s hired the powerful Los Angeles firm of Prada of Daley to argue that the move to the parochial group was religious discrimination by the Southern Section and not based on the usual tenets CIF uses for re-leaguing proposals.

“It’s somewhat ridiculous, in my mind, as to what CIF put these schools through,” said attorney Robert Prada. “From our point of view, the welfare of these students was not their concern. I think this result validates that.”

The Mt. SAC Area had already moved on without Damien and St. Lucy’s and ratified new leagues for the area that would have begun with the 2014-15 school year. Now, the area will go back to the drawing board.

Same can be said for the Catholic Athletic Association, which will have to re-do its league proposals without Damien, Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure in the mix. The CAA has announced that it will meet to do just that on Mar. 27 at St. Pius X-St. Matthias High in Downey.

The CIF-Southern Section was set to announce proposals for new playoff groupings on Mar. 16, but that figures to be delayed until the new league groupings are settled.

“We accept the arbitrators ruling and are prepared to move forward,” the Southern Section said in a statement on Friday. “As always, we will depend on the best efforts of our member schools to facilitate the re-leaguing process in the areas affected by today’s decision.”

Damien and St. Lucy’s, although two separate schools, come as sort of a packaged deal as far as athletics are concerned with Damien making up the boys sports half of the equation and St. Lucy’s the girls. The two schools had been longtime members of the Sierra League, but given the makeover the area received during last spring’s league proposals, it’s anybody’s guess as to where they’ll end up.

Get ready, because Damien High School and St. Lucy’s Priory will once again be coming to a league near you.

The two schools won their arbitration hearing against the CIF-Southern Section on Friday and will be headed back to the Mt. SAC Area for playoff grouping rather than being placed in a parochial grouping.

Damien and St. Lucy’s along with Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure took to the legal system last spring after they were placed in the parochial area and put into new leagues for the new re-leaguing cycle that runs 2014-18.

Damien and St. Lucy’s hired the powerful Los Angeles firm of Prada of Daley to argue that the move to the parochial group was religious discrimination by the Southern Section and not based on the usual tenets CIF uses for re-leaguing proposals.

“It’s somewhat ridiculous, in my mind, as to what CIF put these schools through,” said attorney Robert Prada. “From our point of view, the welfare of these students was not their concern. I think this result validates that.”

The Mt. SAC Area had already moved on without Damien and St. Lucy’s and ratified new leagues for the area that would have begun with the 2014-15 school year. Now, the area will go back to the drawing board.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but my understanding was if they sent (Damien and St. Lucy’s) back to us, we would have to start the process all over again,” Walnut High athletic director Jerry Person said. “That’s why we didn’t include them in the first place. This probably sends us back to square one.”

Same can be said for the Catholic Athletic Association, which will have to re-do its league proposals without Damien, Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure in the mix. The CAA will meet to do just that on Mar. 27.

The CIF-Southern Section was set to announce proposals for new playoff groupings on Mar. 16, but that figures to be delayed until the new league groupings are settled.

“We accept the arbitrators ruling and are prepared to move forward,” the Southern Section said in a statement on Friday. “As always, we will depend on the best efforts of our member schools to facilitate the re-leaguing process in the areas affected by today’s decision.”

Damien and St. Lucy’s come as sort of a packaged deal with Damien making up the boys sports half of the equation and St. Lucy’s the girls. The two schools had been longtime members of the Sierra League, but given the makeover received during last spring’s league proposals, it’s anybody’s guess as to where they’ll end up.