Boys and Girls and Murry Bergtraum to Participate; Brackets Set; Girls’ Play-in Game on Thursday 

For the first time, teams from New York’s Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) will participate in the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational (NHSI).  Boys and Girls (boys #5 seed) and Murry Bergtraum (girls #3 seed) round out the fields. 

There will be a girls play-in game for the first time also.  Riverdale Baptist will play Dr. Phillips Thursday at noon ET and the winner will advance to the semifinals.

 The brackets for the ESPN RISE NHSI have also been determined. Bracket 

Information on the two PSAL teams follows:

Boys and Girls
Coach: Ruth Lovelace
Standout Players: Antione Slaughter Sr. (10 ppg & 8 apg), Mike Taylor Sr. (Rutgers commit)
More Info: Coach Ruth Lovelace became the first woman to coach a boys basketball team to a PSAL Championship in 2010. 

Murry Bergtraum
Coach: Ed Grezinsky
Standout Players: Ashley Gomez Sr.

More Info: Murry Bergtraum has won 13 straight PSAL city titles.

ESPN RISE NHSI teams and seeds:          

Boys Tournament 

Seed	High School	State	‘10/’11 Record	ESPN RISE FAB 50
1	Montrose Christian	MD	22-1	3
2	Oak Hill	VA	27-3	5
3	Findlay Prep	NV	28-3	7
4	Winter Park	FL	27-6	15
5	Boys and Girls	NY	23-6	24
6	Dwyer	FL	31-2	16
7	United Faith Christian	NC	27-6	31
8	John Carroll	MD	33-4	NR

 

Girls Tournament 

Seed	High School	State	‘10/’11 Record	ESPN RISE FAB 50
1	Archbishop Spalding	MD	26-2	NR
2	Hollywood Christian	FL	31-1	36
3	Murry Bergtraum	NY	22-3	NR
4	Riverdale Baptist	MD	28-5	11
5	Dr. Phillips	FL	31-2	44

ESPN RISE, in conjunction with Paragon Marketing Group, selected teams and determined brackets for the third annual ESPN RISE NHSI.  Tournament teams were selected by a selection committee whose decision, in part, was based on the ESPN Fab 50 rankings during the 2010-2011 high school basketball season. Team eligibility criteria also included that participating schools must be four-year high schools, independent or public, and have their respective governing body’s permission to participate.  Teams with post-graduate students or re-classified fifth year seniors were not eligible for consideration for the ESPN RISE NHSI.

Findlay Prep from Henderson, NV will attempt to hold onto the championship title for the third year.  This year’s field features teams from six different states including champion-game participants from the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL , NY), Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM), Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) and the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).

All games will be televised live in HD by ESPN’s networks.  The schedule can be viewed here: https://rise.espn.go.com/boys-basketball/articles/2010/11/10-TV-Schedule.aspx.  All NHSI telecasts on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will also be available online through ESPNnetworks.com.

ESPN RISE NHSI tickets are available now at NHSIHoops.com.  General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students.  Tickets will be available on game days at the Hanley Center box office.

For up-to-date game information, player profiles, game reports and network airtimes please visit RISE.ESPN.go.com/boys-basketball/events/2011/04/national-high-school-invitational.aspx.

Media interested in credentials for the event should contact Diane Lamb at [email protected].

About ESPN RISE National High School Invitational

The ESPN RISE National High School Invitational launched in 2009 at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md. The 2009 ESPN RISE National High School Invitational boys tournament was won by Findlay Prep and the girls tournament was won by Seton Keough.  The second annual tournament was held at Coppin State University’s Physical Education Complex in Baltimore.  Findlay Prep retained the title in the 2010 tournament; Peddie School won the girls tournament.

About ESPN RISE

ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to engage and elevate high school athletes by providing them with recognition, resources, information and inspiration that can motivate them to improve their skills and achieve their goals to be the best athletes they can.  ESPN RISE assets include ESPN RISE, GIRL, Hardwood and Gridiron magazines; ESPNRISE.com, and more than 160 high school events including Elite 11, Elite 24, ESPN RISE Games, ESPN RISE National High School Invitational, Faster to First, Area Code Baseball and Nike Combines/Nike SPARQ Mini Camps.  ESPN RISE is uniquely positioned to provide high school athletes and the company’s core fans with compelling high school sports content across all ESPN platforms.

About Paragon Marketing Group

Paragon Marketing Group is a corporate consulting agency specializing in sports, entertainment and cause related sponsorships.  In addition, Paragon has partnered with ESPN over the past 10 years to deliver more than 200 live high school football and basketball telecasts featuring many of the top teams and players in the nation.  Paragon’s consulting clients include Gatorade, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Continental Airlines, PNC Bank, Reliant Energy, Bayer and Cuties.

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Contact:  Diane Lamb [email protected]