Three NBISD elementary students are heading to state after winning first place spots in the Texas Southwest District Elks Hoop Shoot on January 25th. They all will be headed to the Texas State Elks Hoop Shoot Competition, set to take place on February 22nd in Dallas.

The NBISD students advancing to the state contest are Joseph Cardenas from Veramendi Elementary. He will be competing in the 10-11 year-old boys’ division. Casey Orr from Seele Elementary will be competing in the 8-9 year-old boys’ division. Nia Treloar attends Walnut Springs Elementary and will compete in the 8-9 year-old girls’ division.

At the Texas State Elks Hoop Shoot, each participant will shoot 25 free throws, with the top performers earning the opportunity to advance to Regionals, which will then provide them an opportunity to qualify for Nationals which will be held in Chicago.

The Elks Lodge National Association has proudly hosted the Hoop Shoot free throw contest for more than 50 years. For the past eight years, most NBISD elementary schools have held preliminary rounds on their campuses, sending top-performing students to compete in the local New Braunfels Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot. This event has been hosted at Klein Road Elementary for the past eight years.

This year’s local competition, held on January 11th at KRE, saw representation from all nine NBISD elementary schools, as well as New Braunfels Middle School and Oak Run Middle School, according to Jami Painter, New Braunfels Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot Coordinator. Five NBISD students advanced to the Texas Southwest District Hoop Shoot on January 25th, with the three who were listed above earning their place at the state competition.