Northgate High School is hoping that next year its athletic teams will be competing in Class A instead of AA.

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) makes class assignments every two years based on the number of boys and girls in grades 9-11. Northgate's current count of 176 boys and 141 girls would have been low enough two years ago to put the school's teams into Class A, competing against schools of a similar size instead of the larger AA schools. Northgate exceeded the last cut-off level by some six boys.

That's why officials are hopeful that when the PIAA meets during the first week of December, Northgate will find itself in Class A. The designation is not a given, however, because the cut-off levels change every two years.

"It's a moving target," said high school principal and athletic director Brian Kyle.