Thompson Falls first-grader wins Seattle Punt, Pass & Kick competition

Six-year-old Hailey Lowe bested three other regional champions to win the Seattle Seahawks’ Punt, Pass & Kick team championship on Nov. 19 in Renton, Washington, before being recognized in an on-field ceremony at halftime of the Seahawks’ game at CenturyLink Field the next day.

Lowe, a first-grader at Thompson Falls Elementary School, followed up wins at her local and regional championships by punting, passing and kicking a football a combined 65-feet, 11-inches at Seahawks’ training facility in Renton. Her total distance was more than eight feet better than her closest competitor.

“I’m very, very proud of her,” Mandy Lowe, Hailey’s mother, said. “It’s a big accomplishment for her. It was really neat.”

Hailey Lowe was shepherded through her competitions by her grandfather, Ed Noll, who had aided Hailey’s older sister, Chesney, in previous years. Chesney competed again in 2016 and won her regional in her age group (10- and 11-year-olds), although her total was not enough to qualify for the team championship. Nevertheless, Chesney’s enthusiasm for Punt, Pass & Kick helped hook her younger sister, who was participating for the first time and in the event’s youngest age group (6- and 7-year-olds).

“Chesney always does this and gets hyped up,” Noll said. “Hailey wasn’t practicing or nothing but she said ‘pop, I want to try it.’”

Lowe won her local competition in Thompson Falls and took first again at a regional final at Big Sky High School in Missoula in October. Regional competitions were held across five states — Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Alaska — and the regional winners with the top four scores were invited to Seattle.

The youngest Lowe sister was not phased by the opportunity.

”I don’t think it really sank into her what really happened,” Noll said. “A funny thing was, she didn’t want to practice much so I really had to ride her the week before. I said, ‘Hailey, pop’s not going to drive all the way to Seattle if you’re not going to win.’”

The family — Chesney, Ed and his wife, Pat — drove the nearly 400 miles to Renton to the Seahawks’ sprawling indoor training facility where Hailey competed while her family watched from the sidelines.

“They had the competition on Saturday and they didn’t tell us who won,” Noll said. “They had to compile all the scores and assess all the penalties so they had an award ceremony (Sunday) before the game.” At the awards ceremony, Noll wasn’t expecting a first-place finish.

“She messed up on her pass and I thought ‘she didn’t get first,’” he said. “Sunday morning we’re doing the ceremonies and they announced the fourth-place girl and I think ‘oh, I hope Hailey got third.’”

Quickly, though, the second and third-place finishers were announced and it set in that Hailey Lowe was a champion.

“I though, ‘oh my gosh she won,’” Noll said.

Grandfather and granddaughter were given two free tickets to the game Sunday and were brought down to the field to be honored in front of a sellout crowd at halftime.

“First NFL game I’ve ever been to,” Noll said. “I told Hailey, ‘you know what, it took a 6-year-old little girl to get a 65-year-old man to see the Seahawks.’”

Once all of the team competitions around the NFL are completed, the winners with the four best scores head to the national championships in Orlando during the 2017 Pro Bowl. Lowe is currently seventh in her age group and will not advance to the next and final round, but Noll was still impressed with his granddaughter’s first effort.

“I’m really proud that she tried and succeeded at it,” Noll said. “It goes to show you can succeed at this, all you have to do is try. It’s not about winning, it’s about trying.”

Full results from Punt, Pass & Kick competitions are available online at www.nflppk.com.