Five local schools and 1,125 students participated in the annual
event
Staff Report
Gilroy – More than 1,120 students ranging from eight to 13 years old competed in the Gilroy Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot-Off contest in December.
The students hailed from six local schools including, St. Mary, El Roble Elementary, Ascencion Solorsano, Brownell and South Valley middle schools. Winners among the girls were: Breanna Keller of El Roble who won in the 8 to 9-year-old bracket, Katran Pdslo of St. Mary in the 10 to 11-year-old division and Savanna Nou of South Valley in the 12 to 13-year-old division.
Among the boys winners were: Chad Hartman of St. Mary in the 8 to 9-year-old bracket, Gregory Spellman of Solorsano in the 10 to 11-year-old bracket and Brownell student Conner Russ in the 12 to 13-year-old division.
First and second place winners received trophies and the top three scorers were awarded special Elks basketballs.
Representatives from several lodges throughout the county competed in the District Elks contest, which was staged in Watsonville Jan. 2. Hartman, Ross, Pdslo and Nou competed for the Gilroy Lodge. Nou placed second in her division, the highest among all Gilroy competitors.
Hoop-shoot participants who go onto the win at the Northern California Finals in Carmichael and the Regional Finals in Las Vegas, will compete in the National Elks Finals in late March in Orlando.
In 2004, 330 students from throughout the nation competed in the National Elks Hoop Shoot Final.
