SPIRIT LAKE – Seven girls and boys ages 10 to 14 were named champions of the 2012 Knights of Columbus District Free Throw Championship and earned the right to compete at the regional level. The district battle took place February 19 at Spirit Lake High School and was sponsored and run by the Knights of Columbus Iowa Great Lakes Council 5043.
In the competition, Spirit Lake’s Payton Schuchert was the 10-year-old boys’ champion and Alexa Guerrero of Spencer championed the girls’ division. Spencer’s Chase Hough was the winner of the 11-year-old boys’ division, and Spirit Lake’s Ally Morreim won for the girls. In the 12-year-olds’ bracket, Michael Slattery of Spencer was the boys’ champion, and Hannah Jennings of Spirit Lake was the girls’ champion. The 14-year-old winner in the boys’ division was Spirit Lake’s Logan Backhaus
District winners are eligible to compete in the regional competition in Remsen, with an eye toward moving on to the state and international levels.
The Knights of Columbus is an international Catholic family fraternal service organization with 1.8 million members in more than 14,000 local councils. Last year, Knights donated 69 million volunteer hours and $151 million to charitable and benevolent causes, sponsoring projects to benefit their church, councils, communities, families and youth.
Iowa Great Lakes Council 5043 sponsors other youth events including the Soccer Shootout and the Knights of Columbus Spelling Bee. They also run the Soup and Pie Supper in November, and the Tootsie Roll Drive for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities on Labor Day weekend, benefiting local organizations.
