At 9 years old, Sequim’s Garrett Little can say he’s a national finalist.
Garrett tied with four other boys to take fourth place in the 8- to 9-year-old division in the Elks Hoop Shoot National Finals free throw contest on April 16 in Chicago, Ill.
He was one of six winners in different age divisions from the Northwest Region, including Isabelle Felton of Naval Elks Lodge No. 353 in Port Angeles, who took sixth overall at nationals sinking 19 of 25 free throws.
Garrett made nine of his first 10 and 12 of 15 in the second round to finish with 21.
Camden Cowgill of San Antonio, Texas, won the division sinking all 25 of his free throws and 44 of 45 in a shoot-off with second-place finisher Ben Johnson of Kearney, Neb.
“They were all really good,” Garrett said of his competition.
He was happy with the results.
“They can have bad days. I can have good days. It’s just what happens,” he said.
To earn a berth at the national finals, Garrett won the city tournament and the district finals, both at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club, the state tournament at St. Martin’s University in Lacey and the Northwest Regionals at Clark College in Vancouver. He won two shoot-offs between the state and Northwest Regional tournaments.
For his efforts, his family won a trip to Chicago and he received a plaque for fourth place. Garrett said they went on a boat tour, ate at a couple of restaurants and participated in the tournament over the weekend.
His favorite part of the experience, he says, was coming from a small place like Sequim and competing in Chicago. To make it this far, Garrett said he had to make some sacrifices for the competition. He said there is “a lot of hard work and time put into it” and that he could have played with friends after school but chose to practice free throws with his dad Gary. The pair setup a daily routine in Greywolf Elementary’s gym shooting upwards of 200 free throws.
Garrett definitely plans to compete again next year but he’ll be shooting from 15 feet instead of 11 feet as he moves up a division. He plans to ask his dad for help again and start practicing again after the summer.
For more information about the Elks’ Hoop Shoot, visit www.elks.org/hoopshoot.
