By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A move to two high school's next school year will cause the number of students enrolled at Benton High School to spike, meaning a rise as well in the number of athletes competing in any given sports season.
Despite that enrollment growth, the Benton Cardinals will continue to compete in the Midland Empire Conference for the next two years, according to the St. Joseph School District, making them one of the largest enrolled schools in the conference. Early estimates show that Benton will have approximately 1,070 students next year and MSHSAA uses 9th-11th grade enrollment for classification.
The MEC includes Benton, Cameron, Chillicothe, Lafayette, Maryville, and Savannah. Excelsior Springs is joining in 2026-2027. Lafayette is becoming a middle school and will not be in the conference at the high school level. Benton is set to compete in the conference in 2026-27 and 2027-28, but in April, the MEC superintendents will hold a vote on keeping Benton in the conference following the 2027-28 school year.
School district officials said during Monday's board meeting that the Cardinals would continue competing in the MEC, but Director of Student Services Shannon Nolte did acknowledge that Benton could explore a move into the Suburban Conference in the future, the conference Central currently competes in as part of the Red Division.
Benton has competed in the Midland Empire Conference since 1962.
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