DILLON — Butte’s Oakley Stajcar and Ellison Graham won their respective age groups at the Montana South District Elks Hoop Shoot Saturday at Montana Western’s Straugh Gymnasium.
Both young Butte athletes will advance to the Montana State Hoop Shoot, which is Feb. 3 in Livingston. The South District is made up of Butte, Anaconda, Deer Lodge, Dillon and Helena, and only the champions in each age group move on.
Stajcar, a third grader at Butte Central, made 17 out of 25 shots to win the girls’ 8-9 age group title. Charley Parsons of Boulder placed second with 12 makes.
Graham, a seventh grader at East Middle School, hit on 22 of 25 shot to win the girls’ 12-13 group. Dillon’s Adry Gibson took second with 17, and Brigid Mehrens of Anaconda placed third at 15.
Graham, who moved to Butte before the 2022-23 school year, won the national championship in Chicago in 2021. She placed fourth in 2022.
Kansas Keller of Dillon won the girls’ 10-11 age group. She made 18 shots and then edged Butte’s Tenley Osborne in triple overtime for the victory.
Anaconda’s Tre Estes and Luke Baker and Dillon’s Noah Feenstra won boys’ titles.
Estes hit 21 shots to win the boys’ 8-9 age group. Butte’s Hunter Boyle took second at 17, one shot better than Dillon’s Kenny Holland.
Baker won the boys’ 10-11 group with 17 shots. Dillon’s Austin Blando and Butte’s Bentley DeTonancour were next at 15. Blando took second with an overtime victory.
Feenstra sank 22 shots for the boys’ 12-13 title. That was one shot better than Butte’s Miles Choquette.
At the state meet, the six South District champions will compete against the champs from the other districts. The state champions will advance to the Regional shoot, which is March 9 in Rapid City, South Dakota.
The National Finals will be held April 20 in Chicago. The names of all the national winners will have their names digitally displayed in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Elks Hoop Shoot is sponsored by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the U.S.A. It is endorsed by hundreds of school systems around the country. The Elks fund the program primarily through its National Foundation and the support of the local lodges and state associations.
The Elks Hoop Shoot began as a local program by Corvallis, Oregon Elks in 1946. It is in its 52nd year of national competition. More than 3 million boys and girls are expected to participate this year.
Click the link below to see the results from the South Regional Shoot.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 