{KXLG – Watertown, SD} The Elks Hoop Shoot is a nationwide free throw contest sponsored annually by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. It’s one of the largest and longest-running youth sports programs in the country, giving kids ages 8 to 13 the chance to compete in a fun, skill-based event that emphasizes hard work, sportsmanship, and perseverance.

More than 1 million youth across the U.S. participate each year, starting at the local lodge level. Winners advance through local, state, regional, and national competitions, with the national finals held each spring at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. Six national champions are crowned, and their names are engraved in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The program is designed to develop hard work and confidence. The Elks highlight that success in the Hoop Shoot often comes down to practice and consistency which are qualities they hope kids carry beyond the basketball court.

Watertown Elks Lodge #838 welcomed 61 young athletes for this year’s local event, with first-place finishers earning a spot at the state competition and a chance to continue their run toward the national stage.

Winners of the Watertown Elks Hoop Shoot were: Odin Ebsen 8/9 boys from Summit, Kellen Haugen 10/11 boy from Watertown, Nate Roe, 12/13 boy from Florence, Brynlee Amdahl 12/13 girl Summit, Ashlyn Schmidt 10/11 girl Florence, Mya Gaikowski 8/9 girl Waubay.

The state competition will be held on February 7th in Pierre at St. Joseph’s School Gym.

Woodbridge, Beckman and Santa Margarita football teams will be going for CIF state titles on Saturday at Fullerton, Buena Park and Saddleback College.

All the finals in 15 divisions will be held either Friday or Saturday in Orange County.

In the 7-AA division, Connor McBride’s Woodbridge Warriors (7-8) will meet Redding Christian (14-0) Saturday at 11 a.m. at Fullerton.

In the 4-A division, Marcello Giuliano’s Beckman Patriots (12-3) will take on El Cerrito (12-2) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Buena Park.

In the open division, Carson Palmer’s Santa Margarita team (10-3) meets De La Salle (12-0) Saturday at 8 p.m. at Saddleback College.

Schedule:

OPEN: De La Salle (12-0) vs. Santa Margarita (10-3) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. at Saddleback College

DIVISION 1–AA: Folsom (13-1) vs. Cathedral Catholic (11-2) on Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. at Saddleback College.

DIVISION 1–A: Central East, Fresno (13-1) vs. Pacifica, Oxnard (15-0) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3:30 p.m. at Saddleback College.

DIVISION 2–AA: St. Mary’s, Stockton (12-2) vs. Bakersfield Christian (13-0) on Fri., Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. at Saddleback College.

DIVISION 2–A: Sonora (14-0) vs. Rio Hondo Prep (15-0) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 11:30 a.m. at Saddleback College.

DIVISION 3–AA: St. Ignatius, S.F. (8-6) vs. Ventura (13-2) on Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. at Fullerton.

DIVISION 3–A: McClymonds, Oakland (11-2) vs. RF Kennedy, Delano (12-3) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at Fullerton.

DIVISION 4–AA: Sutter (13-1) vs. Barstow (11-3) on Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. at Buena Park.

DIVISION 4–A: El Cerrito (12-2) vs. Beckman 12-3) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at Buena Park.

DIVISION 5–AA: Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland (10-4) vs. Christian, El Cajon (8-7) on Friday, Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. at Buena Park.

DIVISION 5–A: Calaveras, San Andreas (12-2) vs. Bishop Union (12-3) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. at Fullerton.

DIVISION 6–AA: Lincoln, San Jose (11-3) vs. Valley Center (8-6) on Friday, Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. at Fullerton.

DIVISION 6–A: Winters (13-1) vs. Morse, San Diego (10-4) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. at Buena Park.

DIVISION 7–AA: Redding Christian (14-0) vs. Woodbridge, Irvine (7-8) on Sat., Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. at Fullerton.

DIVISION 7–A: Balboa, San Francisco (11-2) vs. South El Monte (11-4) on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. at Buena Park.

TICKETS:

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Cal Petersen held onto a simple childhood dream: He wanted to play for the Waterloo Black Hawks.

He grew up in eastern Iowa, and he gravitated toward hockey – a sport often trumped by more popular sports in the state, like baseball, basketball, football and wrestling – because of his family’s history.

And while most young players dreamed of making it to the National Hockey League, Petersen set his sights on the local USHL – the top junior hockey league in the United States – team.

Every day is a new experience for Rotary Youth Exchange student Leo Canudas — including the area’s recent snowfalls. The United States was on the shortlist of countries Canudas wanted to attend school in for the year, after years of asking his mom when it would be his turn to spend a year abroad as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange. He did not know anything about Wisconsin when he was finally told he had been accepted and where he would be going. He did learn that Wisconsin is “full of cheese” and that it can get pretty cold. When he arrived at Gibraltar this past fall, he discovered that American school days are longer than those in Bolivia, but he quickly immersed himself after deciding to join the football team.

Canudas’ fall at Gibraltar included being named homecoming king and scoring a touchdown on his first and only carry of the game. A boxer in his home country, Canudas is also taking up another sport he has never played before: basketball. He says it is all part of the Rotary Youth Exchange experience and adds that sometimes you only have one chance to do something — and you should take advantage of it when it comes up.

Canudas will be enrolled at Gibraltar until the end of the school year, by which point he hopes to catch a Packers game and a boxing match before he goes home. You can learn more about the Rotary Youth Exchange program at this link.

HEAR THE STORY ABOUT CANUDAS’ TOUCHDOWN IN THIS YEAR’S GIBRALTAR HOMECOMING GAME