San Ramon 6th Grader Named International Free-Throw Champion

SAN RAMON, CA — A San Ramon sixth grader earned a new puppy the hard way: she became an international Free-Throw Champion in basketball.

Chloe Omega, a sixth grader at Windemere Ranch Middle School, steadily advanced through local, regional and national basketball Free-Throw competitions until she was notified that she scored the best out of girls her age anywhere in the world. To motivate her to practice, her mother Sharon promised her a puppy.

“We told her, ‘Chloe, if you make it to state, maybe we’ll get you that puppy - why don’t you practice outside every day?” Sharon told Patch.

The road to a puppy, and world dominance, began during the annual Knights of Columbus Free Throw competition at the Catholic Youth Organization at St. Raymond’s Church in Dublin. Chloe, who has been playing basketball since kindergarten in various local leagues, made 10 out of 15 free throws, and qualified for the Tri-Valley competition.

There, she made 16 out of 25 free throws, and advanced to regional competitions. That’s when she began practicing shooting on her driveway hoop every single day, and it paid off. At Folsom, Chloe and another girl both had 18 throws, which meant another round of five. Chloe scored all five. Her competitor was also on track to score all five, until the ball fell out at the very last shot.

At state competitions, Chloe truly shined, scoring 24 out of 25 shots. During a tiebreaker round, Chloe scored four out of five shots, and was crowned state champion for 12-year-old girls.

Just recently, the family received a letter in the mail informing them that Chloe scored the best in her age group not only in the country, but in the world as well.

“I was more motivated to win after each passing round,” Chloe told Patch in an email. “I practiced outside in the front yard shooting at least 50 free throws every few days. At the state competition, I was feeling confident, kept my rhythm and was focused. When I won state, I was feeling very surprised. After having a high score at state, I had a very strong feeling I was going to win international. When I found out I was the International Champion, I was very excited and in shock.”