Meet Detroit Lakes’ Knights of Columbus Free Throw Champions: Tyson Eckhoff and Presley Swenson

Tyson Eckhoff and Presley Swenson show off their Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship trophies (Photo: Keith Eckhoff)

ST. CLOUD, MN (KDLM) – The Knights of Columbus held their annual Minnesota State Free Throw Championship at Cathedral High School in St. Cloud on April 2nd and two Detroit Lakes students came away with first-place finishes.

Presley Swenson, a fourth-grader at Rossman Elementary, won the Girls Age 9 Division, and Tyson Eckhoff, a sixth-grader at Detroit Lakes Middle School, won the Boys Age 11 division at the 48th Annual Free Throw Championship.

Each contestant in the field shot 25 consecutive free throw attempts. (age 9 thru 11 shot from the 12-foot line, ages 12-14 shot from the regulation 15-foot line).  To break a tie, contestants shot a second round of five free throws, with successive rounds of five free throws each until a student won.

Swenson made nine of her 15 free throws in round one, then upped her total to 19 of 25 (76%) in round two. She sank 17 of 25 shots in round three, then made 15 of 25 in a sudden death round to win the trophy.

Eckhoff made 14 of his first 15 shots in round one, then would make 23 of 25 shots in rounds two and three. The fourth round started a little dicey.

“He missed two of his first four shots,” Tyson’s mother, Cami Eckhoff, said. “His calm and collected demeanor kicked in after missing those first two and he made the next 21 straight.”

Tyson finished the round 23 of 25 to win the championship by one shot.

Tyson Eckhoff displays his Free Throw Championship trophy with his parents, Keith and Cami Eckhoff of Detroit Lakes (Photo: Cami Eckhoff)

Three other Detroit Lakes students competed in St. Cloud: Isabelle Wolf of Holy Rosary took third in the Girls Age 12 division, Kyleigh Okeson of Detroit Lakes Middle School, took fourth place in the Girls Age 14 division, and Aliyah Okeson of Rossman Elementary took fourth place in the Girls Age 10 division.