Lincoln Resident Grant Cooper Places 3rd in Elks Hoop Shoot Regional Competition

[March 12, 2008]  IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Having already tasted glory in local, district and state competitions, Grant Cooper captured third place Saturday at the Elks Hoop Shoot North Central Regional Championship. Grant, the 11-year-old son of Bill and DeAnn Cooper, demonstrated an accuracy from the penalty line well beyond his years and brought honors to his hometown of Lincoln.

Grant Cooper, second from left, is pictured with the Illinois state competition winners from each of the three age groups in the boys' and girls' divisions of the Elks Hoop Shoot. 

Representing Lincoln Lodge 914, Grant, a student at Lincoln Junior High School, sank 19 out of 25 free throws in the 10-11-year-old boys' division and four out of five in a shootoff, making him a true standout in the field of more than 3 million boys and girls, ages 8-13, who have participated in the contest since last fall. Competitors at the North Central Regional Hoop Shoot represented their home states of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Now in its 36th year, the Elks Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest has seen more than 101 million participants since its inception, making it the largest coeducational youth sports program in the nation. Funded entirely by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the contest has served as a testing ground for sports legends Trajan Langdon of the Cleveland Cavaliers, WNBA 2001 Rookie of the Year Jackie Stiles of the former Portland Fire, New Mexico Lobos head coach Steve Alford, Olympic gold medalist and former Golden State Warriors Chris Mullin, former North Carolina State star Jennifer Howard and former White Sox third baseman Chris Snopek.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is a patriotic and philanthropic fraternal organization with nearly 1 million members in more than 2,100 communities.

[Text from Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks file received from DeAnn Cooper]