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The top seeds in the tournament are all
undefeated: Quincy Notre Dame, the preseason No. 2 Class A team in
Illinois, in Boys A; Rockford Boylan, a sectional finalist last
year, in Boys AA; Bloomington Central Catholic, a sectional champion
last year, in Girls A; and Galesburg, a 2003 state quarterfinalist,
in Girls AA.
Quincy Notre Dame, the two-time
defending State Farm Holiday Classic champion, will have to navigate
an impressive Boys Class A field that includes four undefeated
teams. The No. 2 seed in the bracket is Peoria Christian; the No. 3
seed is Lagrange Keystone, Ohio, a team the Cleveland Plain
Dealer lists as the No. 1 reason to watch basketball in Northeast
Ohio this year; and the No. 4 seed is Mount Pulaski.
In the Boys Class AA division, Rockford
Boylan coach Steve Goers will likely be seeking his 700th career win
during this year's Holiday Classic. Boylan's conference nemesis,
Rockton Hononegah, is the No. 3 seed. Two out-of-state schools
grabbed the No. 2 and 4 seeds. No. 2 New Orleans Jesuit, which won a
2001 state title in Louisiana, brings in a 12-2 mark; and No. 4
Clinton, Tenn., features several Division 1 recruits. The Class AA
field also includes South Holland Thornwood, the Illinois Class AA
runner-up in 2001 and 2003 and four-time defending State Farm
Holiday Classic champion.
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On the girls' side, 15 of the 32 teams
won regional titles last year. The No. 1 seed on the Class A side is
Bloomington Central Catholic, last year's State Farm Holiday Classic
runner-up. The Saints will be challenged by No. 2 seed Rock Island
Alleman, which lost only two games last year to Class A teams; Corn
Belt arch rival and defending State Farm Holiday Classic champion
Normal University High, which features Texas A&M signee Ashlee
Pistorius; and No. 4 seed Sterling Newman, a newcomer to the Holiday
Classic this year.
Galesburg, which has made the
championship game on the Class AA side of the holiday tournament
every year since it began in 1997, faces an exciting field that
includes No. 2 seed Chicago Marshall with Rutgers signee Tudy Reed
and legendary coach Dorothy Gaters (774 wins, seven state titles);
No. 3 seed Peoria Richwoods, ranked No. 7 in the state in preseason
polls; and No. 4 seed Peoria Notre Dame.
Once again, all game scores and boxes
will be posted on the official tournament website,
www.theclassic.org. The site
will also include tournament tidbits, live scoring updates, school
information and records.
For a complete schedule of games,
ticket and hotel information, visit
www.theclassic.org.
Click below to see brackets:
[To download the Adobe Acrobat reader for the PDF files,
click
here.]
[News release] |
