Cranberry municipal building hosts Elks free throw contest
CRANBERRY TWP — Dozens of youngsters tested their free-throw shooting skills at the Elks Hoops Shoot at the Cranberry Township municipal building on Sunday morning, Dec. 17.
The contest was hosted by the Cranberry Elks Lodge 2249, and is one of hundreds of local free-throw shooting contests held around the country by the national Elks organization. According to volunteer Cynthia Maser, this marks the second Hoop Shoot held by the Cranberry Elks after a years-long hiatus.
“We did it last year, and it kind of took a break for a few years beforehand,“ said Maser, whose husband, A.J., is a member of the Elks. ”Last year, we had it here in the municipal building. It was the first year that we had it in a while. We got a decent turnout, and we got a lot better turnout this year.“
Competitors were divided into three age groups — ages 8 and 9, ages 10 and 11, and ages 12 and 13. Maser said the event drew far more participants than last year.
"Last year we maybe had 15 kids. I would say we'll probably have maybe 30 (this year),“ Cynthia said. ”We don't have as many girls, so hopefully next year we can do something to round up some more girls to participate.“
As soon as they went to the front of the line, each competitor took 10 free throws before going to the back of the line. When it was their turn again, they attempted 15 more free throws.
In the event of a tie, the deadlocked participants each got another round of five shots until the tie was broken.
Owen Lobb was the winner for the 8-9 age group, hitting 11 of his 25 shots. The winner for the 12-13 age group was Ainsley Faber who made 8 shots, and the 10-11 winner was Evan Spithaler, who made 18 shots.
Sunday’s contest was a local-level competition, with the winners of each age group advancing to a district-level competition. There are 11 other Elks lodges in the same district as Cranberry’s lodge, although the location of the district competition has yet to be determined.
The winners of that competition advance to the Pennsylvania state competition, held March 2, 2024 at Bellefonte Area High School in Bellefonte.
Those winners advance to the North Central regional competition held on March 16 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for the best shooters from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Finally, 72 winners from the regional competitions will advance to the national finals in April in Chicago.
The grand prize for the six national champions is for their names and photos to be displayed at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. According to Cranberry contest director Fred Roney, the Elks will cover the travel costs for those who advance through the ranks.
“They’re out there for four days, and the Elks organization provides the funds for the family to travel to the national level,” Roney said.
