The first annual Hidden Promise Classic Middle School Basketball tournament was held December 3rd – 5th at Glenville State College. Eight teams made up of almost 120 athletes from four central West Virginia Schools, battled it out on the hardwood at the Jesse R. Lilly Gymnasium for the girl’s and boy’s championships.

In the first round of the girls bracket on Thursday, December 3rd , Clay Middle School defeated Gilmer County 44-23. Clay’s Brittany Gould was the top scorer with 22 points and teammate Andrea Litton added 8 points. The Gilmer County Mini-Titans were led by Julie Bishop’s 10 points and 6 points from Dee Reinhardt.

Wirt County Middle School advanced to the championship game with a 31-10 win over the Spencer Middle School Yellow Jackets. Wirt got 12 points from Brandy Bunch and 5 from Shania Tanner. Hillary Blosser and Shyanne Starcher were Spencer’s top scorers with 4 points each.

Gilmer County (1-2) won the consolation game on December 5th with a hard-fought 27-23 win over Spencer (0-2). Julie Bishop and Hannah

Roberts sparked Gilmer with 6 points each while Sara Coombs hit for 5 points. Spencer’s Kipra Rhodes was the game’s top scorer with 8 points and the Jacket’s Miranda Hall had 7 points.

In a back and forth contest, Wirt County Middle School (2-1) won the Girls Championship with a 24-19 decision over Clay County (1-1). Wirt’s Elizabeth Adams was the high scorer with 12 points, Miriam Smith contributed 5, and Brandy Bunch had 3.The Clay County Middle School Mustangs received 11 points from Carlee Craddock.

Making the All Tournament Team was: Spencer’s Kipra Rhodes, Julie Bishop of Gilmer County, Clay’s Brittany Gould, and Elizabeth Adams of Wirt County. Brandi Bunch of Wirt Middle School was voted the Most Valuable Player.

The opening round of the boys bracket on Friday, December 4th saw the Gilmer Mini-Titans knock off the Spencer Yellow Jackets 31-22. Nathan Allison led Gilmer with a game high 10 points, Austin Cunningham added 8, and Seth Skinner had 6. Spencer was led by Hunter Bradley’s 6 points and 4 from Jesse Lucion.

The second game of the night was a real battle as Wirt County edged Clay’s Mustangs 28-22. Kalob Bell triggered the Wirt victory with 10 points and Josh Trembly hit for 6. A pair of 6 point efforts by Jordan Lucas and Storm Carver were tops for Clay.

The boys consolation was a thriller as Spencer ((2-1) and Clay (0-2) had to go to overtime to decide a winner. Spencer’s Hunter Simmons beat the buzzer with a three pointer in the overtime period to lift the Yellow Jackets to an exciting 34-31 win. Hunter Bradley led Spencer with a tournament high 17 points while Simmon’s walk-off trey gave him 8 points and Issak Wilmoth had 4. Dakota Keener was Clay’s top scorer with 8 points, Storm Carver hit for 6, and Chris Cole and Michael Gray had 4 points each.

Gilmer County won the Boys Championship 40-33 over Wirt County (1-1) keeping their record unblemished at 3-0. Austin Cunningham and Nathan Allison gave the Mini-Titans a pair of great performances with 16 and 15 points respectively. Kalob Bell was Wirt’s leader with 10 points, Austin McVey scored 7, and Dustin Garner hit for 6.

The Boys All-Tournament Team included: Clay’s Dakota Keener, Hunter Bradley of Spencer, Kalob Bell of Wirt, Nathan Allison of Gilmer, and MVP Austin Cunningham also of Gilmer County.

Glenville State College sponsored the Hidden Promise Classic to help expose student athletes to the college environment. Coaches and players from the GSC Women’s and Men’s Basketball Programs as well as other GSC faculty and staff were on hand to talk with the players and spectators. The GSC Men’s Basketball team wowed the players and crowd with a rousing dunk exhibition.

The Hidden Promise Classic is an extension of Glenville State College’s Hidden Promise Consortium. This collaboration between Glenville State College, seventeen Central West Virginia County school systems, and the Belpre, Ohio City Schools, promotes K-12 and higher education officials working together to improve the number and quality of high school graduates, raising ACT scores, increasing the number of students going to college, and increasing the number and quality of college graduates.

GSC Hidden Promise Scholars are students in the eighth through twelfth grades who hold hidden promise. Up to five students in each grade level are selected by their county superintendents and principals to be Hidden Promise Scholars. These students interact with Glenville State College students and faculty to explore the vistas that a college education opens. They will mentor with GSC students at their home schools and participate in a wide array of activities on campus. Hidden Promise Scholars have access to online academic tutoring, receive ACT prep, and attend academic summer camps at GSC to help better prepare themselves for challenges of a college education. Students are also asked to participate in community engagement projects to help them learn the value of giving back to society.

Upon high school graduation, Hidden Promise Scholars enrolling at Glenville State College receive annual scholarships of $1,000 each. In the Fall of 2007, the first thirteen Hidden Promise scholars enrolled at GSC. That number has grown to 44 for the Fall of 2009.

“The tournament was a great success, and we plan to make it a yearly event. We are considering expanding the tournament to allow more teams from the Hidden Promise Consortium the opportunity to participate,” said Tournament Director Bob Edwards.