Winner
Putnam Middle School sixth-grader TJ Espinosa, 11, won the Elks State Hoop Shoot championship Jan. 15 and will represent Connecticut and Putnam Lodge #574 at the New England Championships in March. Espinosa won the state title, in which each contestant takes 25 free throws, in a triple-overtime shootout. He made 22-of-25, then five, four, and five (out of five) in the overtime periods. He won the local championship Dec. 11 with 23 makes, and the district championship for the first time the next day by making 24-of-25. New Englands will be held March 12. One winner will move on to the national championships in April.

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