Two Breckenridge students advance to state Elks Hoop Shoot contest
Aaden Mendez and Ruthie Valdez will represent Breckenridge in the state championship Elks Hoop Shoot contest next month. This is Aaden’s second year in a row to compete at the state level.
Ruthie Valdez shoots a free throw in the Breckenridge Elks Hoop Shoot contest in December. She is advancing to the state competition in February. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
The students, along with eight others, first competed in the local Hoop Shoot, hosted by Breckenridge Elks Lodge 1480 in December. In the Boys-Age 10-11 category, Aaden won first place, and Braedon Marshall came in second; in the Girls-Age 12-13 group, Ruthie won first place, and Allie Valdez won second place; and, in the Boys-Age 12-13 category, Aaron Moore placed first, and Cameron David came in second.
Aaden, Ruthie and Aaron traveled to Arlington earlier this month for the district Hoop Shoot contest. Aaden and Ruthie placed first in their categories, and, according to the local Elks Lodge, Aaron missed advancing to the state contest by only two shots.
Aaden and Ruthie will now advance to the state competition to be held Feb. 22 at R L Turner High School in Carrollton.
The winners from the state competition in Carrollton will go on to the regional contest in Dallas. The national contest will be in Chicago, where six national winners — a boy and a girl in each age category — will be named.
The national winners will each receive a trophy and have their name inscribed on a plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The top-scoring boy and girl will be named the national champions and will receive the Getty Powell Award.
Everything above the district level is an overnight trip, and the participants and their parents get to attend the events as guests of the Elks.
For the second year in a row, Aaden Mendez will represent Breckenridge in the state-level Elks Hoop Shoot contest. He placed first in his age group at the local and district levels in December and earlier this month. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Aaron Moore placed first in his age group in the Breckenridge Elks Hoop Shoot in December. In the district contest, he missed advancing to state by two shots. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: In December, 11 local students competed in the Elks Hoop Shoot contest hosted by Breckenridge Elks Lodge 1480. After winning first place in the local competition and then again at the district contest, Aaden Mendez, front row, right, and Ruthie Valdez, second from left on the back row, are advancing to the state-level next month. For more photos from the local competition, click here to see the Breckenridge Texan Photo Gallery. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
