Champions crowned

Nine boys and girls from Jackson and Howell, ages 10 to 14, were named local champions of the 2008 Knights of Columbus free throw championship and have earned the right to compete at the regional level.

The Howell-Jackson Council 6201 sponsored the local competition at the St. Veronica School gym on Jan. 19. All youngsters ages 10 to 14 were eligible to participate.

According to a press release, Matthew Castronuova was the winner of the 10-yearold boys division andKatie Coakleywon the 10-year old girls division.

In the 11-year-old bracket, Gia Weber was the girls champion and E.J. Paras was the boys champion.

The 12-year-old winners in the girls and boys division were Samantha Stazko and Ethan Candelaria.

The 13-year-old girls division was won by Ashley Girard and the 13-year-old boys division was won by Jonathan Bukowski.

The 14-year-old girls championwasAshley Szymczyk, who shot a perfect 15-15.

Each contestant was allowed 15 free throw attempts in the contest.

Each of these winners will now compete in the regional competition to be held in February 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 nearly 1.7millionmembers in more than 12,500 local councils. Last year, Knights donated 60 million volunteer hours and $130 million to charitable and benevolent causes, sponsoring projects to benefit their church, councils, communities, families and youth, according to the press release.