The addition of the new Open Division for the California Interscholastic Federation state basketball playoffs brought more headaches than anyone could’ve imagined Sunday.
The release of the brackets was delayed a half-hour, then the CIF Website crashed. Once the brackets finally were distributed, the Campolindo High boys team was mistakenly left from the field.
That issue, though, has been corrected.
North Coast Section commissioner Gil Lemmon said he mistakenly submitted Miramonte instead of Campolindo as the fourth team from the section to reach the Northern Regional Division III playoffs.
The NCS was allowed to select an additional representative for Division III after Bishop O’Dowd was moved to the Open Division.
That was supposed to be Campolindo. The Cougars were the No. 2 seed in NCS but lost in the quarterfinals.
Per NCS policy, the highest seeded team to lose in the quarterfinals would reach NorCals if a team from that division was selected for the Open.
But Lemmon submitted Miramonte, the No. 5 seed in NCS, when the commissioners from the 10 sections across the state met Sunday to fill out the brackets.
Lemmon learned of the error when he received an inquiry from this newspaper.
Lemmon said in an email Sunday night that he has apologized to both schools and informed Miramonte that he must replace the Matadors in the playoffs with Campolindo. “Having all these teams and backfilling, it was just a nightmare,” Lemmon said.
Campolindo coach Matt Watson expressed relief that Lemmon took responsibility for the error and made moves to correct it.
The Cougars will simply replace the Matadors’ spot in the bracket. Miramonte had been awarded the No. 10 seed and slated to play at Burlingame on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
The situation with Campolindo was the craziest part of a day of excitement that featured the unveiling of the inaugural Open Division.
Salesian earned the top seed on the boys side, with O’Dowd getting the No. 3 and Newark Memorial the No. 7.
Salesian has a first-round bye, while O’Dowd opens against Modesto Christian and Newark plays Archbishop Mitty-San Jose.
O’Dowd is the top seed in the girls Open Division. Carondelet is the No. 3 seed and St. Mary’s is No. 4.
Miramonte, which was hoping to remain in Division III and have a good shot at reaching the state final, was selected as the No. 7 team in the Open. The Matadors (27-2) face St. Mary’s-Stockton on Friday at Delta College.
One of the big winners of the day was the Dublin boys team. The Gaels earned the No. 1 seed in Division II after Newark, Serra-San Mateo and two-time defending state champion Mitty all were pulled into the Open Division.
Of Dublin’s six losses, three were to Newark, one was to Serra and another was to Salesian.
“We’re battle-tested,” Gaels coach Tom Costello said.
Deer Valley is No. 1 in boys Division I, and St. Joseph Notre Dame is the top seed in boys Division V.
Monte Vista is the top team in girls Division I, while the Salesian girls are No. 1 in Division IV.