Sequim’s Garrett Little sinks shots for second Elks national competition berth

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 24, 2019

At the ripe age of 12, this veteran of Elks hoop shoots has still got it.

Garrett Little, a national hoops shoot qualifier in 2016, sank 22 of 25 shots to win his division at the 47th-annual Elks Region 1 Hoop Shoot Contest on March 16 in Vancouver.

Little is headed this week to represent Washington state at the national Elk Hoop Shoot on April 26 in Chicago, Ill.

This year’s national event marks the 47th year that “Hoop Shoot” has been a national program for girls and boys ages 8-13. Champions from 12 regions advance to the national Hoop Shoot finals.

Out of a field of 72 competitors at nationals, the six hoop shoot champs — boys and girls in 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13 division — are then enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Little edged Cooper Owen of Moscow, Idaho, who was second after hitting 21 of 25 shots.

At the same regional event, other regional winners included Kaitlyn Siegner of Burns, Ore. (Girls 8-9); Jacob Bower of Nampa, Idaho (Boys 8-9); Madison Lee of Longview (Girls 10-11); Tracen Tripple of Nampa, Idaho (Boys 10-11) and Kaeley Wiltbank of Columbia Basin (Girls 12-13).

In 2016, Little hit 21 of 25 shots at nationals to tie for fourth place in the Boys 8-9 division.

For more about the competitions, see www.elks.org/hoopshoot.