The 10th annual Katie Heintz Basketball Tournament – held in memory of the16-year-old St. Francis student who died of leukemia – will be held Sat., Mar. 7, at St. Francis High School in TC with proceeds going toward the pediatric oncology unit at Munson Medical Center. The tournament pits students against faculty in a series of games. Local car dealers have also jumped into the game – with Otto Belovich from Cherry Capital Subaru Cadillac and Traverse Motors coaching one team while John Cueter from Fox Motors coaching the other. The two will face an officiating team headed up by Bill Marsh Jr. from the Bill Marsh Auto Group.

The tournament kicks off with a spaghetti dinner at 5pm. Tickets are $5 per person or $20 per family. Fee for the tournament is an open donation.

Since the tournament started in 2005, it has raised more than $84,000 and has allowed children to receive cancer treatment in northern Michigan and not have to travel to Grand Rapids or Ann Arbor. At the time of Katie's illness, there were no northern Michigan options for her treatment. Since then, the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital collaborated with Munson to establish a clinic to treat pediatric hematology and oncology patients.