Six Kids Crowned Champions in Elks Hoop Shoot Finals

CHICAGO, May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The dust has settled over the Goodman Center at Roosevelt University, home of the 2019 National Finals of the Elks Hoop Shoot free throw tournament. On April 27, 72 of the nation's best free- throw shooters dueled for national titles in boys and girls divisions in three age-groups.

After nine tie-breaking shoot-offs and a total of 1,595 made free throws, six champions were crowned:

8- to 9-year-olds
Blake Whitley of Virginia (25 out of 25, 10 out of 10 in a shoot-off) and Bree Besonen of Michigan (22 out of 25, 10 out of 10 in a shoot-off)

10- to 11-year-olds
Anthony Thompson of Ohio (25 out of 25, 5 out of 5 in a shoot-off) and Yinuo Wang of Florida (23 out of 25)

12- to 13-year-olds
Cameron Elwer of Ohio (25 out of 25) and Jamisyn Stinson of Ohio (24 out of 25)

All six champions will have their names inscribed in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and will visit the Hall as guests of the Elks. More than 300,000 8- to 13-year-olds started down the Road to Chicago last fall.

During the Hoop Shoot weekend, the finalists and their families went to a Chicago White Sox baseball game and engaged in community service, tying no-sew blankets that will be distributed to V.A. centers in Chicago as a part of the Elks pledge to help the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs eliminate veteran homelessness.

Funded by the Elks National Foundation, the Hoop Shoot has been developing gritty kids for nearly 50 years. The keynote speaker at the Awards Banquet was two-time Olympic medalist Kendall Coyne- Schofield. Notable alumni from the Hoop Shoot program include college coaches Chris Mullin and Steve Alford, and WNBA players Kristi Toliver and Seimone Augustus.

The Elks organization is headquartered in Chicago, which will be hosting the Hoop Shoot National Finals again next year.

The complete results from this year's Hoop Shoot are available at elks.org/hoopshoot. Next year's tournament tips off in the fall in local communities everywhere.

Contact: Christine Robinson | Communications, Elks National Foundation
2750 N. Lakeview Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614-2256
773/755-4856 | [email protected]

SOURCE Elks National Foundation

Related Links

http://www.elks.org