The 2013 Holiday Classic Scholarship application deadline has passed. Applications for 2014 scholarships will be available in January, 2014 on this page!

The Classic Tournament, Inc., which organizes one of the largest, coed high school holiday basketball tournaments in the nation called the State Farm Holiday Classic, has selected four winners as recipients of the 2013 Holiday Classic Scholarship award.  Each of the winners will receive a $1,000 scholarship to go directly to their college of choice for tuition costs.

Established to recognize and award scholarships to eligible high school seniors who participated in this past year’s tournament, a selection committee of current and former educators chose winners based on their leadership skills and academic performance. Applicants were also asked to demonstrate their experiences in student activities and community service, and required to submit an essay titled “How my high school sports experience helped prepare me for success in higher education.”

The 2013 Holiday Classic Scholarship awards go to (in alphabetical order):

• Bradley Dulee, Normal U-High – Brad is a three-sport athlete at U-High, being named soccer MVP and participating on the state championship baseball team last season. He currently carries a 3.964 grade point average, ranking in the top 1% of his class. Brad is a member of the National Honor Society and is active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He works at Game Time Gym in Bloomington and plans to major in Pre-Medicine at Monmouth College this fall.
  
• Lauren Frank, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin – Lauren participated in basketball all four years at SHG. She is active in Student Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and French Club president. She volunteers to read the newspaper on radio for vision impaired residents, assists at various youth sports camps, and has accumulated nearly 500 hours of service hours since her freshman year. Lauren plans to become an Occupational Safety and Health Technician while attending Murray State University this fall.
  
• Cole Hasselbring, Cissna Park – Cole earned numerous individual accolades in basketball, including a selection to the 2011 State Farm Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team. He has played baseball and football at Cissna Park, is president of the school’s FFA chapter, and is a member of the Student Council and National Honors Society. Cole plans to major in Criminal Justice while attending Illinois State University this fall, and is the third scholarship winner from Cissna Park, joining Patrick Doggett (2007) and Ross Munsterman (2009).
  
• Megan O’Donnell, Bloomington Central Catholic – Megan has participated in basketball, volleyball and softball all four years for the Saints. She currently has a 4.0 grade point average, is a Vita Christi board member, and has been on the Student Council and National Honors Society. She has volunteered at the Midwest Food Bank and the Bickford House for Senior Living in Bloomington. Megan plans to major in Business at the University of Missouri this fall,

“We have honored many fine student-athletes the past eight years, and this year’s group of recipients is no exception,” said tournament vice-president Dave Oloffson. “Each year is a tough process for our selection committee, but these four student-athletes stood above the rest based on their involvement in school, athletics and their communities.”