Bloomington, IL – The 31^st annual installment of the State Farm Holiday Classic will boast three defending state champions among its elite field this year. The largest, coed high school holiday tournament in the nation tips off December 28, 29, 30 & 31, and marks the eleventh consecutive year with State Farm Insurance^® as the title sponsor.

A feel of March will be in the air as three teams that brought home state title hardware last season will be participating in this year’s Holiday Classic. Those teams include the Peoria Richwoods girls (Class 3A champs) and Ball State signee Katie Murphy, the Macon Meridian boys (Class 1A champs) with all-stater Trent Swigert, and the Chargers from Champaign Centennial with Drake University recruit Rayvonte Rice and Eastern Kentucky recruit Jeff Johnson.

But possibly the most eagerly anticipated team to watch is the Rock Island boys and their star junior Chasson Randle. Randle is ranked as the #31 junior in the nation by ESPN Hardwood magazine, played on the USA Basketball 16-Under national team this past summer and is being recruited by top schools all over the country. Joining Randle, Swigert and Rice on the boys side include highly touted stars Max Bielfeldt (Peoria Notre Dame), Hayden Hoerdemann (Bloomington Central Catholic), Travis Britt (Culver (IN) Military Academy), Aaron Simpson (North Chicago), Taylor Baxter (Fieldcrest) and Tevin Rumley (Rock Falls).

“This is a chance to see some of the top high school talent in Illinois before they move on to play college basketball in the near future,” said Classic vice-president Dave Oloffson. ”We’ve worked hard to make both of our boys’ fields as competitive and exciting as possible, and I think our fans will start to notice the results.”

Once again the girls’ portion of the State Farm Holiday Classic will be one of the toughest tournaments throughout the Midwest. In addition to Richwoods, all five Bloomington-Normal intercity schools with a combined record of 101-41 last season will take part. Each school played for at least a Regional championship and each return star players such as Big 12 Conference player of the year Katy Seibring (Normal Community), Erin McGinnis (Normal West), Alyssa Palmer (Normal U-High), Allie Norton and Jess Reinhart (Bloomington Central Catholic) and Bloomington’s Teasha Harris and Amanda Hainlen (U of I-Springfield recruit).

The Class 1A-2A field will be loaded again from top to bottom, as 12 of the 16 teams won at least a Regional championship last season. State 4^th-place finisher Brimfield, led by Missouri recruit Paige Spietz and Army signee Kelsey Herridge, lead this field loaded with perennial powerhouses and newcomers Downs Tri-Valley, Peoria Christian and Annawan featuring Quincy University recruit Kelly Buresh. Newcomers to the Class 3A-4A field include 4^th-place state finisher Springfield, Belvidere North, Metamora and Sterling.

“Year in and year out we pride ourselves on offering the most competitive girls’ basketball tournament in the Midwest,” Oloffson said. “The experience of playing against state-tournament level teams in December has proven to pay off for many teams come February and March!”

All games will be played at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center, Normal Community High School, Normal West High School and Bloomington Central Catholic High School. All teams are guaranteed 4 games over the 4-day event.

For more tournament information and a complete list of the 64-team field, visit the official Web site at www.theclassic.org. All-tournament passes may be purchased through the State Farm Employees Activities Association or by contacting your local participating team.

2009 Boys Class 1A-2A Field

1. Blm. Central Catholic
2. Chicago Providence St. Mel       
3. Chillicothe IVC
4. Cissna Park
5. Downs Tri-Valley
6. El Paso-Gridley
7. Hartsburg-Emden           
8. Kankake Bishop Mac
9. Macon Meridian              
10. Minonk Fieldcrest                           
11. Peoria Christian                               
12. Rochester                          
13. Rock Falls
14. St. Joseph-Ogden
15. Stanford Olympia            
16. Taylor Ridge Rockridge 

2009 Boys Class 3A-4A Field

1. Champaign Centennial
2. Culver Military Academy (IN)
3. Grayslake Central
4. Lake Forest
5. Mahomet-Seymour
6. Normal Community
7. Normal U-High
8. North Chicago
9. Peoria Notre Dame
10. Quincy Notre Dame
11. Rock Island
12. Rock Island Alleman       
13. Rockton-Hononegah     
14. South Holland Thornwood
15. Springfield
16. Sterling       

 2009 Girls Class 1A-2A Field

1. Annawan
2. Blm. Central Catholic
3. Brimfield
4. Camp Pt. Central/Augusta SE
5. Champaign St. Thomas-More
6. Downs Tri-Valley
7. Kankakee Bishop Mac
8. Pana
9. Peoria Christian
10. Rochester
11. St. Joseph-Ogden
12. Stanford Olympia
13. Sterling Newman
14. Taylor Ridge Rockridge 
15. Tolono Unity
16. Williamsville               

 2009 Girls Class 3A-4A Field

1. Belvidere North
2. Bloomington                     
3. Chicago John Hope         
4. Metamora
5. Morton
6. Normal Community       
7. Normal West                    
8. Normal U-High 
9. Park Ridge Maine South               
10. Peoria Notre Dame        
11. Peoria Richwoods           
12. Rock Island                        
13. Rock Island Alleman       
14. Springfield
15. Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin
16. Sterling
    

Teams in red are new to the Classic.