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Wednesday, April 13

State tournament hardware highlights 2005 State Farm Holiday Classic Send a link to a friend

[APRIL 13, 2005] BLOOMINGTON -- Six teams that recently took home state tournament trophies will highlight the 2005 State Farm Holiday Classic. The largest co-ed holiday high school basketball tournament in the nation will present its 27th annual event Dec. 27-30, marking the seventh consecutive year with State Farm Insuranceas the title sponsor.

The most competitive field in the tournament this year should be the girls' Class A bracket, which will include state champ Rock Island Alleman, second-place finisher Chicago Hope and fourth-place recipient Sterling Newman. Other state powerhouses headlining the 2005 field include Elite Eight qualifier Kankakee Bishop McNamara, Bloomington Central Catholic, Rochester, St. Joseph-Ogden, Normal U-High, Camp Point Central, CPCI and Olney East Richland with all-stater Brittany Johnson.

The girls' Class AA field will again feature state champ Peoria Richwoods and all-stater Biannca Ward, along with perennial power Galesburg. New to the field will be Bolingbrook, which recently took home the third-place state trophy; Naperville Neuqua Valley, which made it to the state's Final Four in 2001 and 2002; and George Washington Carver out of Montgomery, Ala. The Lady Wolverines feature several of the top players in Alabama and have had a couple of former players go on to play in the WNBA. Other tournament contenders include Normal Community, Joliet Township, Rock Island, Tinley Park Andrew and Bloomington.

"Over the years we have been fortunate to field some of the best girls basketball teams in Illinois," said Dave Oloffson, vice president of the Holiday Classic. "But this year could truly be billed as a December state tournament with the potential number of state-ranked teams playing."

The boys' Class A bracket will return 15 teams from the 2004 State Farm Holiday Classic, including Sweet 16 member Rochester, along with state powers Quincy Notre Dame, Normal U-High, Chillicothe IVC, Bloomington Central Catholic, Rock Island Alleman, Addison Driscoll Catholic and Hartsburg-Emden. The lone new team in the field will be Macon Meridian and its sophomore star, Travis Rosenkranz.

In the boys' Class AA bracket, Mount Zion returns to defend its tournament title against a field that includes fourth-place state finisher Rockford Jefferson and its star player, Robert Eppinger. Other schools returning include Normal Community, South Holland Thornwood, Chicago Hyde Park, Grayslake and Rock Island. This bracket welcomes three new Illinois teams in Springfield, Sterling and Urbana, as well as an out-of-state team from Gainesville, Fla., which has won more than 20 games each of the last three seasons and made the Florida Elite Eight in 2003.

"Each year we get inquiries from all over the United States to play in the classic," Oloffson said. "This year should make for our most competitive large-school field yet. Combine this with our continually strong small-school field, and it should be another great opportunity to witness the state's best basketball."

For more tournament information, visit the official website at www.theclassic.org.

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