Lakeside’s Brock advances to Elks’ national Hoop Shoot finals in Chicago

Lakeside Middle School student Kennedy Brock made 21 out of 25 free throw attempts at the 46th National Hoop Shoot Central Regional Semi-Finals on March 3 in Paris, Tenn., to advance to the national finals.

Brock is one of 72 of the nation’s best free throw shooters ages 8-13 to qualify for the 2018 Hoop Shoot National Finals April 21 in Chicago. She advanced through the local, district and state levels of competition, sinking the most of 25 free throws in her division at each contest.

Hot Springs Elks Lodge No. 380 sponsored the local competition on Jan. 7 at Hot Springs World Class High School. The state contest was held by the Arkansas State Elks Association at Hot Springs Intermediate School on Feb. 3.

Brock and Arkansas’ other division winners qualified for the Central Regional competition against the winners from Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. The finals will begin at 8:30 a.m. on April 21.

The Elks Hoop Shoot shot-tracker will be available at https://www. elks.org/hoopshoot to track the progress of the competition. Social

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All 72 of the national finalists will compete to sink the most of 25 free throws and claim the national championship for their age divisions. One boy and one girl in each of three age groups will earn the prestigious title and have their names permanently inscribed on the Hoop Shoot plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

The Elks National Foundation has funded the Hoop Shoot free throw contest for more than 45 years.