The Greater Nashua Elks “Hoop Shoot” champions dominated the 2011 State Elks’ Southwest District “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw competition on Saturday at the Elm Street Middle School gym, as they won all six Southwest District age categories. Michael Kernan, 13, of Nashua, had the hottest hand in the State Elks Southwest District Hoop Shoot with 21 out of 25 free throws. He was joined by three other Nashua players, Tilak Patel, 10, with 14 free throws, 1Heather Bridge, 10, with 10 free throws and Hailey Sullivan, 9, who made seven free throws to win her division. Two Hudson youths, 9-year-old Garrett Lambert dropped in 18 out of 25 free throws, while 13-year-old Amanda Torres rounded out the six Greater Nashua Elks Hoop Shoot Champions by sinking 11 free throws to win her division.

The six 2011 State Elks Southwest District “Hoop Shoot” Champions were presented with their respective first-place gold trophies by State Elks President, Cullen S. Downing, of Claremont, at the awards luncheon held in the Nashua Elks Home after the contest. This now completes their second level of “Hoop Shoot” competition.

The Southwest District champions will join their Southeast District Champion counterparts: Luke McCuster, Matthew Doyle and Maggie Casey, all of Dover, along with Portsmouth’s Regan Williams and Romeo Ingram and Derry/Salem’s Adani Webster in Plymouth on Feb. 6, to compete in the 2011 Elks State “Hoop Shoot” Free Throw Championship contest against the Northwest and Northeast District champions.

State champions go on to the New England Elks Regional competition in South Portland, Maine, on March 26. The winners will go on to the Elks National “Hoop Shoot” Finals in Springfield, Mass., in April. National winners will have their names inscribed in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. More than three million boys and girls have competed in this year’s Elks National “Hoop Shoot” program.

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