MOOSEHEART, IL - Officially, Mike Tovar only had 45 seconds on the court during Thursday's IHSA Class A slamdunk competition.

But in reality, Tovar had much more than those precious few seconds in the Carver Arena at the Peoria Civic Center. And while he did not advance to Saturday's finals, he gained a lifetime of memories during his afternoon at the site of this weekend's state basketball finals.

"It's great," Tovar said. "That's why I wanted to come down here, for the experience."

Tovar recorded three official dunks in his 45-second routine and scored 26 points. That score wasn't among the top four, which meant Tovar, a junior at Mooseheart, saw his basketball season end in the preliminaries.

"When we were in the other room warming up, you could see some of the guys really jumping," Tovar said. "The four guys who made it through were the four who were mainly jumping."

The four qualifiers for Saturday's finals were Jereme Richmond from North Shore Country Day, Mike Tisdale from Riverton, Marland Johnson from Meridian and Vandalia's Eric Hobbie.

Hobbie was the Class A champion last year and he followed that by winning the "King of the Hill" title in competition with the Class AA champion. Thursday, Hobbie scored 38 points -- of a possible 40 - with a routine that included a dunk where he put his arm to the elbow into the netting.

"Everyone here knew what he could do because they saw him last year," Tovar said. "He wished me good luck. I told it was my first time here. He was a good guy."

The top dunkers had an impact on Tovar, who dunked in the final grouping.

"When you see those guys put it between their legs, you don't want to put your one-hand dunk down or your backboard dunk," Tovar said.

Those top competitors also had a positive impact on Tovar, who said he would love to return to Peoria as a senior.

Mooseheart coaches Jeff Perales and Ron Ahrens traveled to Peoria along with Tovar's Red Ramblers teammates Stephen Pinto and Floyd Mays.

"All the people kind of made me nervous," Tovar said. "Seeing (Pinto and Mays) and the coaches around made me more comfortable. It was great to have them cheering me on."

Overall, Tovar said he enjoyed the experience, despite its rather brief duration.

"Actually I do feel good about how I did," Tovar said. "In the first round, there were six people who got 'zero. 'I was worried I was going to choke. But me getting 26 was good. My goal was to be higher than halfway and I did that."

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,900 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 250 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.
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