“It’s great for Clark County and the communities to have the 10 schools play against each other in some capacity,” said Kenton Ridge athletic director Kris Spriggs, who coached the Cougars boys team for 23 years. “I’m excited for the kids to play in kind of a neat venue, a big atmosphere with a college court. It’s a benefit for everyone involved.”
The girls showcase will begin at noon on Dec. 28 and will feature five games throughout the day — Shawnee vs. Southeastern (noon), Northwestern vs. Catholic Central (1:30), Kenton Ridge vs. Springfield (3 p.m.), Emmanuel Christian vs. Northeastern (4:30 p.m.) and Tecumseh vs. Greenon (6 p.m.).
The boys showcase will start an hour earlier on Friday and will also feature five games — Emmanuel Christian vs. Northeastern (11 a.m.), Tecumseh vs. Greenon (12:30 p.m.), Northwestern vs. Catholic Central (2 p.m.), Shawnee vs. Southeastern (3:30 p.m.) and Kenton Ridge vs. Springfield (5 p.m.). The times for the boys games were pushed up an hour to accommodate the Ohio State football program’s bowl game against Missouri later that evening.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and includes all five games. The event is cash only and no credit cards will be accepted at the gate.
At last year’s state cheerleading competition at Wittenberg, Northwestern athletic director Brad Beals and Tigers athletic director Brian Agler began talking about putting together a community event. They brought the idea to the county athletic directors in the spring and began putting together a holiday basketball showcase, Beals said.
“The hardest part is always the scheduling piece, and we were able to get the county ADs to agree to common opponents,” Beals said. “Once we got over that hurdle, we were off and running. It’s going to be great for our student-athletes, but I also think it’s going to be good for our entire county. It’s going to be great for basketball fans in Clark County to come to Wittenberg for a day and see all of the kids on all the teams.”
The first year of the event will likely be a learning experience for everyone involved, Agler said. The teams will warm up in the renovated Wittenberg Fieldhouse to cut down the times between games, he said.
“We’re going to learn a lot about how we operate,” he said. “We’re on a tight schedule. We’re going to see if we can move this thing along and having two gymnasiums helps so we can get the other teams warmed up. We’re excited about it.”
As part of the event, the university will be awarding ten $1,000 scholarships — one for each Clark County school — to an individual attending Wittenberg.
“It gives us a chance to give back,” Agler said.
Game One, a Holland, OH-based sports apparel company, also donated tournament shirts to each school as part of the event.
The event will also be great for exposure for Wittenberg, Agler said. Many people in Clark County may not have seen the updated facilities on campus, especially The Steemer, he said.
“It’s nice to get everyone on campus and we have nice facilities,” Agler said. “People get tired during the holidays — they want to get out and move a little bit. This gives everybody a chance to do that and watch some basketball.”
The event is a win-win for both the high schools and Wittenberg, Beals said.
“It’s a win for the high schools to all play here all on one day on the college floor at Pam Evans Smith Arena,” he said. “It’s also a way for us as county schools to support Wittenberg. It’s a win-win.”
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