Winners from local Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot contest to represent Breckenridge at district event

January 07

16:11 2025

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Five young people from Breckenridge will represent the community at the district Hoop Shoot free throw contest after winning the local competition hosted by the Stephens County Elks Lodge No. 1480 on Sunday, Jan. 5.

Cooper Walling prepares to shoot the ball, while Drake Forbes waits his turn. Cooper won first place in the 12-13 boys category, and Drake placed second. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The contest is for kids ages 8 to 13, divided into three age groups: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13.

This year’s Breckenridge Hoop Shoot winners were:

Girls, 8-9, first place: Millie Walling; second place: Elsie Freeman
Boys, 8-9, first place: Trey Duran; second place: Mason Martinez
Girls, 10-11, first place: Betlyn Reyes; second place: Jemma Lancaster
Boys, 10-11, first place: Bryce Biddison; second place: Bostyn Navarro
Boys 12-13, first place: Cooper Walling; second place: Drake Forbes

Medals were presented in each category, and the first-place winners are eligible to participate in the district hoop shoot on Jan. 18 in Arlington. The Elks Lodge will provide gas money for that trip.

The winners from the district contest will go on to the state competition in Carrollton in February, followed by the regional and national contests. The regional hoop shoot will be held in Dallas in March, and the national contest will be in Chicago in April. Everything above the district level will be an overnight trip, and the participants and their parents will get to attend the events as guests of the Elks.

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, which is named after the first National Director of the Hoop Shoot.

Last year, Millie Walling and Pate Gill won their divisions at the district competition and went on to compete in the state contest.

According to the Elks Hoop Shoot website, the contest gives kids the “opportunity to participate in a fun, age-appropriate program that sets them up for future success.”

Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan’s Photo Gallery from the 2025 Hoop Shoot.

Twenty-three kids participated in the 2025 Hoop Shoot free throw contest, sponsored by the Breckenridge Elks Lodge No. 1480. Local Elks Lodge members helped out with the event, registering participants, keeping track of the scores, monitoring the goals, and more. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: The first and second place winners in the 2025 Hoop Shoot competition showed off their medals after the event on Sunday, Jan. 5. Pictured from left are: Jemma Lancaster, second place, 10-11 age group; Betlyn Reyes, first place, 10-11; Drake Forbes, second place, 12-13; Cooper Walling, first place, 12-13; Millie Walling, first place, 8-9; Bryce Biddison, first place, 10-11; Bostyn Navarro, second place, 10-11; Trey Duran, first place, 8-9; and, Mason Martinez, second place, 8-9. Click here to see more photos. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)