PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle Elks Lodge 1954 held its Hoop Shoot lodge championship Saturday, Dec. 31 at Presque Isle Middle School.
Thirty five youth between the ages of 8-13 competed in the foul shooting contest after qualifying at preliminary events held at recreation departments and schools throughout central Aroostook County. A total of 711 youth participated in the preliminary round.
In the girls’ 8-9 year-old division, first place went to Alivia Deprey of Woodland, while Rylee Powers, representing Mapleton Elementary School, was the runner-up.
Brody Woodworth of Mars Hill took the title in the boys’ 8-9 classification, with Aaron Cloukey of Presque Isle earning runner-up honors.
For the 10-11 girls, Sophie Blackstone, representing Easton, was the winner, with Carly Levesque of Caribou placing second.
Mason Giles of Caribou prevailed in the 10-11 boys’ category, while Brentley Bridges, representing Easton, claimed the runner-up trophy.
Lucy Cheney of Castle Hill took first place in the 12-13 year-old girls’ age group and was the recipient of the inaugural William “Bill” Sewall Outstanding Shooter Award for girls by making 21 free throws out of 25 attempts during the Presque Isle Elks Lodge 1954 Hoop Shoot competition held Dec. 31 at Presque Isle Middle School. At right is Scott Cheney, Lucy’s father.(Photo Credit/Alan Harding)
The 12-13 girls’ title went to Lucy Cheney of Castle Hill, who qualified at the PIMS prelim contest. Taking second place was Carley Dow of Caribou.
The champion in the 12-13 boys’ division was Cruze Casavant of Presque Isle. Needing to win a shoot-off to break a tie for runner-up honors was Callum Cunningham of Washburn.
The inaugural William “Bill” Sewell Outstanding Shooter awards were presented to the competitors with the highest overall scores. The boys’ trophy went to Casavant, who made 22 of 25 attempts, while Cheney was the girls’ winner as she converted 21 of 25.
The six lodge champions earned the right to advance to the next round, which is the Northern Maine District Championships being held at the James Doughty School in Bangor on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with the contest scheduled for 10 a.m.
Those winning at the district level will move on to the state competition Jan. 29 in Bath, with New England regionals (Portland in March) and national championships (Chicago, Ill. in April) following for those who advance.
