2007 NEWS
One team's trip through a Classic weekend [01/22/2007]
By DAVE MAST
Hathaway Brown, located on the east side of Cleveland, is trying to make a name as one of the elite girls' basketball programs in the state of Ohio. They have had much success under head coach Paul Barlow in his seven-year tenure. They rode into Berlin for the Classic in the Country Challenge on a roll, having won 10 straight en route to a stellar 11-2 mark.
Classic tourney lives up to name [01/18/2007]
By TIM ROGERS
Plain Dealer Sports Writer
It might be a high school event, but it is run with a professional attitude. The fourth edition of the 33-team event honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King and benefiting the Perry Reese Memorial Scholarship Fund was a rousing slam dunk.
Weekend event has been site 'Where Champions Compete' [01/16/2007]
By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer
The Classic in the Country promotes itself as a place "Where Champions Compete."
The proof is in the pudding ... or rather, the production.
CitC is venue for players to raise their stock [01/16/2007]
By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer
Cierra Bravard was taller than her kindergarten teacher.
These days, the 6-foot-5 Sandusky Perkins junior continues to shoot up the charts.
Despite her state-ranked team losing to both Cincinnati Princeton and Cincinnati Oak Hills this weekend, Bravard did what many players at the Classic in the Country IV had hoped to do. From a prospect standpoint, the value of her stock raised with strong play.
An unforgettable day [01/15/2007]
By CRAIG GIFFORD
Daily Record Staff Writer
The Sandusky Perkins girls basketball team traveled to Berlin this weekend for a pair of basketball games as part of the Classic in the Country.
However, Saturday's loss to Cincinnati Princeton and this afternoon's match-up with Cincinnati Oak Hills was the farthest thing from the players' minds on Sunday morning.
On their day away from the basketball court, the Pirates' players and coaches spent several hours with residents of Sunset View Nursing Home, in Millersburg. It was a day they won't soon forget.
He's thankful for all he has [01/15/2007]
By CRAIG GIFFORD
Daily Record Staff Writer
Ben Mast has had to work very hard to accomplish all that he has.
The owner of the Holmes County Amish Flea Market in Walnut Creek, Mast lost his right arm to a farming accident in 1967. From then on, Mast has had to work a little harder, but can be proud of what he's done.
"That changed the ways of my thinking," he said of the accident. "Everything I do, I have to work a little harder. I'm always a very positive person. If any of my employees comes in with a negative attitude, I try to encourage them to be positive. Life could be a lot tougher."
It's that attitude that has driven Mast to be the main sponsor of the annual Classic in the Country, the girls basketball showcase in Berlin.
CitC a blueprint for OHSAA? [01/15/2007]
By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer
Let's hope Dr. Dan Ross was taking notes.
If he wasn't, somebody please send this clipping to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
The OHSAA commissioner and his staff should follow the blueprint taken by the founding fathers of the Classic in the Country. Why couldn't the high school state championships -- boys and girls, you name the sport -- be as inviting and carte blanche?
Girls event best in entire state [01/15/2007]
By JOE SCALZO
The Vindicator Sports Writer
If you wind down Ohio route 62 just out of Navarre, past the cow crossing, the three or four horse-and-buggies and the sign that says, "Visit McDonald's! Sugarcreek's newest restaurant," you'll come to the little town of Berlin, in Holmes County, deep in the heart of the world's largest Amish community.
Players get the royal treatment [01/14/2007]
By ELLIOTT SCHREINER
Daily Record Sports Writer
BERLIN -- In keeping with the tradition of first-class treatment, the Classic in the Country pulls out all the stops in making players' experiences as memorable as possible.
Whether it's playing in front of a capacity crowd for the first time or getting some free grub it's all there for some of Ohio's finest girls basketball players.
It has been no different for the fourth edition of the Classic in the Country.
Hiland's 'Spin Doctor' makes new name during recovery [01/14/2007]
By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer
WALNUT CREEK -- Colten Hostetler turned 16 in June.
Driver's education, state test, license photo, keys in hand -- the Hiland High School sophomore went about it like any other Ohio kid. Except that Hostetler long ago received his education regarding dangers of the road.
Best of Ohio girls' teams to be in Classic [01/12/2007]
T-R Staff Report
Fourteen teams ranked in their respective top tens in the first Associated Press girls' basketball poll will be on display as the Classic in the Country IV descends upon Hiland's Perry Reese Jr. Community Center this weekend for three days of girls' hoops heaven.
Basketball bonanza in Berlin [01/11/2007]
By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer
BERLIN -- For the fourth straight Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the small town of Berlin is doing it up big.
Hiland High School, Ohio Girls Basketball Report founder/director Tom Jenkins and close to 250 volunteers are set to again put on Classic in the Country IV. The Jan 13-15 girls basketball showcase, which will feature 33 teams and 20 games, has again been named one of the top three high school events in America by USA Today.
Off Campus with ... Tom Jenkins | Classic in the Country director [01/11/2007]
By TIM ROGERS
Plain Dealer Sports Writer
Jenkins grew up in the small tobacco town of Cary, NC, and went on to become an all-state player in high school, a North Carolina State recruit, a high school basketball coach, a civil rights attorney, and director of this week's Classic in the Country Challenge in Berlin, one of the best girls basketball events in Ohio.
Ohio's juniors considered nation's best [01/10/2007]
By JOHN HOWLEY
Ohio Girls Basketball Report
Berlin, Ohio -- a nation turns it eyes to you.
Well, maybe not the whole nation, but a big part of the college basketball nation will be making the trek to Hiland High School later this week and many more will be watching what happens at the fourth edition of the Classic in the Country.
Classic in the Country Challenge profitable for county all year around [11/20/2006]
By DAVE MAST
As Classic in the Country rolls around for its fourth year, one doesn't have to look far to see what kind of an economic impact this girls basketball event has had on Holmes County and its surrounding areas.
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