Ohio's National Elks Hoop Shoot Dominance Continues, Adds Two More National Champs!
It was a GREAT weekend at the Hoop Shoot National Contest for all three Ohio shooters on April 20,2024, with Ohio coming away with two National Champions and one fifth place finish!
Ainsley Weaver, representing Chillicothe #52, earned the first National title by going 24/25 free throws in the Girls 8-9 division. Soon after, Parker Moeller, representing Mercer County #2170, also hit 24/25 and won the Boys 8-9 division.
Mason Malone, competing in the Boys 12-13 age group, missed only four shots but ended up tied for fifth in a very competitive field. He went 21/25 but the final two free throws he made earned Great Lakes Region 4 the Cam & Linda Cronk Award for top region in the country. Region 4 totaled 134 free throws, winning the award by two shots over Region 11. Mason was representing Jackson #466.
Ainsley then went into a shootoff with Blake Ensfield from South Haven, MI #1509 for the girls Getty Powell Award for top girls score. She outlasted Ensfield in three shoot-offs to claim the top award and will now attend the Grand Lodge Convention in Austin to get her Getty Powell trophy. She will also travel to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in August in Springfield, MA.
Ohio now has 18 National Champions in the 52 year history of the Hoop Shoot, the most of any state! And we have 11 National Champs in the last 11 years! Plus six Getty Powell winners! All because of great teamwork by our six District chairs and all the lodges throughout the state.
