Four Local Basketball Players win Gold Medals at Knights of Columbus Regional Free Throw Contest

By Jim Stewart

Alliston's Posi Ididapo, Silas Tesseris, and Harisan Naguleswan, as well as Tottenham's Michael Murad, captured gold medals at the 52nd annual Knights of Columbus Regional Free Throw Contest on Saturday morning in King City.

Over 100 participants from Port Credit to Orillia competed in the Region 4 contest—the last stage prior to the Provincial championships in mid-March.

The competition's top score of 23/25 was earned by Alliston resident Harisan Naguleswaran who was a shining example of the adage “Practice makes perfect.”

“Winning this Regional shows that hard work pays off.”

The Banting Memorial SS Grade 11 student—who was the Provincial Free Throw champion in 2023 and a favorite to repeat later this month—delineated his secret to success at the charity stripe.

“Our coach tells us to follow our routine. My routine is two dribbles, spin the ball, two dribbles, set my feet, and shoot.”

Neguleswaran, a Barrie Royal shooting guard, captured the Boys 16 Division.

Ron Frank, Regional Basketball Free Throw Chairman, discussed the process that Nagalueswaran and his fellow competitors navigated on their way to the Provincial championships.

“This is Harisan's fourth competition: school, council, district, and regional. The provincial champions will be declared by the data submitted by the eight regions across Ontario after today's competition.”  

Chairman Frank—who presented hardware to the Top 3 contestants from each division—discussed the satisfying aspects of coordinating these contests.

“It's about getting kids more involved in sports.  It's also about giving them a place to show their skills in a structured competition.  We had 66,000 children aged 9-17 compete in this year's Free Throw competition across Ontario.”

First Place trophies and framed certificates were earned by the following divisional winners:  Girls 9—Kenny Hill (Orillia)—12/25; Girls 10—Kristina Manego (Mississauga) 18/25; Girls 11—Lauren Donatucci (Woodbridge)—16/25); Girls 12—Julliane Frugal (Barrie) 18/25); Girls 13 – Posi Ididapo (Alliston) – 19/25; Girls 14—Alexis Manego (Mississauga) 16/25; Boys 9--Silas Tesseris (Alliston)--20/25; Boys 10—Emmanuel Murillo (Vaughan)—18/25; Boys 11—Sebastian Spray (Barrie)—21/25; Boys 12—Jaewan Hillary (Woodbridge)—22/25; Boys 13—Quentin Falloon (Toronto)—20/25; Boys 14—Allen Awdi (Toronto)—15/25; Boys 15—Michael Murad (Tottenham)-- 10/25; Boys 16—Harisan Naguleswaran of Alliston (23/25). 

Since 1972, local councils of the Knight of Columbus have sponsored the Free Throw Championships to provide “an athletic outlet and encourage the values of sportsmanship and healthy competition.”