Boy advances as Elks Hoop Shoot state champ

Free throw ace Jaxon Ramos to compete for national finals spot

Toni Morrison Elementary School is home to one of the best free throw shooters in the state of Ohio, and he has the competitive statistics to prove it.

Ten-year-old Lorainite Jaxon Ramos advanced as an Elks Hoop Shoot state champion Feb. 18, punching his ticket to the regional finals in South Bend, Ind., on his birthday, March 18.

Jaxon is the first Elks Hoop Shoot state champion from Lorain in more than 40 years, according to his grandfather Brian Bartlebaugh.

Now one step away from April’s national finals in Chicago, Jaxon has shown that the pressure of such a big stage and tough competition does not get to him.

“The kid that he beat was last year’s state champion,” Bartlebaugh said. “The word was, that kid was favored coming in.

“And then, with Jaxon standing next to him, (Jaxon was) 13, 14 inches shorter than him.”

“I trust myself. I was a little nervous, but I got it done. I was like, it’s no big deal, because I knew I had this in me. So, I knew I was going to win.” — Jaxon Ramos, 10, of Lorain

Traveling teams

According to Jaxon’s family, he is involved in a multitude of sports and travels quite a bit.

The amount of travel he has done for the Hoop Shoot contest was not new to him, they explained.

“As each event progresses, I become more aware that he doesn’t let the pressure get to him,” Bartlebaugh said. “He’s traveled a lot anyway.

“He travels on a basketball league, like an AAU type, and he also travels for baseball… He’s just wellrounded and enjoys sports.”

Regional competition next

Jaxon’s next endeavor, held in the shadow of South Bend’s University of Notre Dame. will determine the best free throw shooter in each age group from the Great Lakes region.

According to Jaxon’s mother, Brittney Bartlebaugh, the family has been on the edge of their seats for each and every competition.

Jaxon’s mother’s perspective

The Elks Lodge takes the competition extremely seriously, Brittney Bartlebaugh said.

“Oh my gosh, this has been an amazing ride,” she said. “I cannot lie, sitting on the stands, it’s intimidating.

“I don’t know how (Jaxon) did it. The gym was complete silence when all the kids were shooting. You could hear a pin drop.”

Jaxon, however, said that the tension does not faze him. Instead, he said he expected this of himself.

“I trust myself. I was a little nervous, but I got it done,” he said. “I was like, it’s no big deal, because I knew I had this in me.

“So, I knew I was going to win.”

Above all, Jaxon said he was thankful to the Elks Lodge and the wider Lorain community for being so supportive.

“I feel great to represent Lorain, and represent the Elks (Lodge) 1301,” he said. “I like that my community keeps supporting me wherever I go.”

SUBMITTED Jaxon Ramos, of Lorain, stands on Feb. 18with his state championship trophy for the Elks Hoop Shoot.