The top 58 boys and girls’ basketball seniors from South Central Illinois will be playing in the 18th Annual Carlinville Rotary Club All-Star Basketball Classic, presented by Prairie Farms Diary and CNB Bank & Trust on Sunday, March 27 at Carlinville High School.
A total of 20 high schools will be represented in the event including 28 girls and 30 boys.
Players on the girls’ West squad are Jill Stayton of Carlinville; Addie Greene, Morgan Durham and Hannah Nixon of Southwestern; Callie McAdams of Carrollton; Olivia Crayne, Kenna Bixby and Maddie Mutch of South County; Alexis Pohlman, Torrie McAdams and Jaelee Clark of Greenfield/Northwestern; Caidy Tuetken and Savannah Billings of Staunton; Madison Niemeyer of Gillespie and Bailey Berry of North Greene. Larry Griffith of South County will coach the West All-Stars.
Players on the girls’ East team are Melanie Gist of North Mac, Olivia Marchizza and Marley Smith of Auburn, Brooklyn Suzuki, Abby Sussenbach and Mia Emken of Greenville; Sarah Olson of Pawnee; Rylie Burney of South Fork; and Rachel Holthaus, Lainey Hicks, Ellie Kuhn, Kiley Ladage and Jillian Hamilton of Class 3A 3rd place finisher Pana. The coach of the East All-Stars will be Brent McKinney of Pana.
Officials for the girls’ game are Mike Hemberger of Auburn, Kyle Nestler of Chatham and Doug Simmons of Springfield.
Representing the boys’ West team are Ethen Siglock, Ayden Tiburzi and Aaron Wills of Carlinville; Kyle Leonard and Grant Pohlman of Carrollton; Trent Markezich of Mt. Olive; Trenton Sampson and Matt Crow of South County; Carson Cooley and Charlie Darr of Southwestern; Brady Pembrook, Drake Stuart and Jimmy Stewart of Greenfield/Northwestern; Cayden Silvester of Staunton; and Keegan Ralston of Bunker Hill. Carlinville’s Dave Suits will coach the West All-Stars.
The East boys’ squad includes Chase Laack and Conner Ray of Vandalia; Spencer Rikas and Brock Burwitz of Auburn; Colin Schmitz, Brenden Schoonover, Kyle Kuhn and Drew Hackler of Pana; Drake Vogel and Gavin Matoush of Hillsboro; Jake Johnson and Cooper Bertolino of Nokomis; Peyton McCullough and Jack Schaufelberger of Greenville; and Will Jenkins of Lincolnwood. The coach of the East All-Stars is Seth McCoy of Auburn.
Officials for the boys game are Dave Bishop of Greenfield, Rick Tolle of Witt and Steve DeClerck of Pana.
Each game will be played in four 10-minute quarters. The CNB Bank & Trust 3-Point Shootout for the girls will begin at 3 pm., followed by the girls’ All-Star game at 3:30 pm. The CNB Bank & Trust 3-Point Shootout for the boys will be held between games, starting at 5:30 pm., with the boys’ All-Star game to follow at 6:00 pm. The Prairie Farms Dairy Slam Dunk contest will be held at halftime of the boys’ game.
At halftime of each game, the Carlinville Rotary Club will present the “Coach of the Year” awards. An MVP award will also be given following each game.
The All-Star event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the worldwide pandemic but returns this year for the 18th year.
The West leads the all-time series over the East 12-5 in the boys’ event. The first boys’ game was played in 2003. The East leads the all-time series for the girls’ 11-5. The first girls’ game was played in 2004.
All proceeds from the day’s events will go to the Carlinville Rotary Club to help with community projects throughout the year. Admission to the Carlinville Rotary All-Star Basketball Classic is $6 with children 6 and under admitted free. The Carlinville Rotary Club will provide concessions with a variety of food and drinks.