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I'M COMMISSIONER PAT SIEBEL AND IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BEGIN THIS SPECIAL PRESENTATION HONORING SOME TRULY REMARKABLE STUDENT ATHLETES FROM ESSEX COUNTY.
SO BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, I'D LIKE TO BRING UP OUR HONOREES.
I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE HERE TODAY.
I HAVE THE DISTINCT PLEASURE OF RECOGNIZING ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF WEST ORANGE BASKETBALL STAR ANAYA KAREEM, AS WELL AS THE INCREDIBLE VICTORIES BY THE WHOLE WEST ORANGE MOUNTAINEERS GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM.
NOW, BEFORE I CONTINUE, I MUST TELL YOU THAT I'M WEARING BLUE BECAUSE THAT'S A WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL COLOR, AND I TAUGHT AT WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL FOR 30 YEARS.
I TAUGHT IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FOR 30 YEARS UNTIL I RETIRED.
SO WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL IS REALLY VERY SPECIAL TO ME.
I STILL REMEMBER THE EXACT ROOMS I TAUGHT IN WHEN I STARTED TEACHING IN WEST ORANGE.
I STARTED AT LINCOLN PLACE, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL.
NONE OF YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER THAT, BUT THEY CLOSED THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS, START OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS.
AND LINCOLN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL BECAME PART OF WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL AND I WAS TEACHING NINTH GRADE AT LINCOLN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL.
SO I MOVED TO WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL AND I TAUGHT NINTH AND 10TH GRADE FOR 30 YEARS AT WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL.
IT'S A FANTASTIC SCHOOL AND THAT'S WHY I AM SO HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY TO HONOR YOU.
I'D LIKE TO WELCOME ANAYA UP TO THE PODIUM ALONG WITH HER MOTHER RONIS, DID I SAY IT RIGHT? AND COACH CANICE WILLIAMS. WE WILL HAVE THE REST OF THE TEAM UP HERE.
I WILL SHARE A FEW DETAILS ABOUT ANA'S HARD WORK.
IN JANUARY, ANAYA WAS SELECTED AS MCDONALD'S ALL AMERICAN 2025 EAST NOMINEE AN INCREDIBLY PRESTIGIOUS AND WELL-DESERVED RECOGNITION.
ANAYA DOESN'T HAVE A LONG CAREER PLAYING SPORTS.
NEVERTHELESS, IN NINTH GRADE, SHE DECIDED TO PLAY BASKETBALL AND SHE DIDN'T START OUT AN ALL STAR.
SHE ENDED HER FRESHMAN SEASON WITH ZERO POINTS.
BUT OVER THE COURSE OF FOUR YEARS, SHE HAS INVESTED INCREDIBLE TIME AND WORK INTO IMPROVING.
SHE HAS NOW PLAYED FOR TWO HIGHLY RANKED AND RESPECTED AMATEUR ATHLETIC UNION TEAMS, AND ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF COLLEGE COACHES.
THIS YEAR IN ANA'S FINAL HIGH SCHOOL GAME, SHE SCORED HER 1000 POINT AND GRABBED HER 1000 REBOUND.
ALL, ALL ACCOMPLISHED IN THREE SHORT YEARS.
LAST YEAR ANAYA RECEIVED 11 SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS FROM SCHOOLS SUCH AS NORTHEASTERN, ELON, SIENNA, AND COLUMBIA, BUT HAS CHOSEN TO ATTEND NORTH CAROLINA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY.
WHERE SHE WILL STUDY HEALTH SCIENCES AND POTENTIALLY BECOME A FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINER.
ANAYA HANGING ANAYA HAS BEEN CH CHOSEN TO PLAY IN THE NEW JERSEY GROUP FOR ALLSTATE TOURNAMENT TEAM, THE PHILADELPHIA ALL AMERICAN TEAM, AND THE NEW JERSEY NORTH SOUTH GAME.
NOW, YOU KNOW WHY I'M HONORING HER.
SHE HAS A FANTASTIC BACKGROUND.
ANAYA, YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT, ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND YOUR DEDICATION TO SELF-IMPROVEMENT ARE AN INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US.
I'M SO PROUD TO PRESENT YOU WITH THIS, A COMMENDATION
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FROM THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS.ONE, TWO, YOU SAY A FEW WORDS.
UM, I WAS NOT PREPARED TO SAY ANYTHING HERE.
UM, SO AS IT SAID, LIKE WHEN I WAS A FRESHMAN, LIKE, HOLD ON.
WHEN I WAS A FRESHMAN, UH, I DIDN'T MOMMY
LIKE, I DIDN'T THINK THAT I WOULD BE LIKE WHO I AM TODAY AND STUFF.
AND UH, LIKE JUST EVERYBODY SITTING IN THIS ROOM AND ALL MY COACHES AND ALL MY TEAMMATES AND STUFF, UM, Y'ALL TRULY MADE LIKE, Y'ALL TRULY MADE ME WHO I AM TODAY.
SO I REALLY JUST APPRECIATE THE COMMUNITY AND THE LOVE AND THE FAMILY THAT I'VE EXPERIENCED HERE AND, UH, TO MY TEAMMATES.
UM, THE OTHER CLASSMEN, UM, JUST UNDERSTAND THAT THE POSITION THAT YOU'RE WALKING IN NEXT YEAR JUST WORK.
UM, AND, UH, TO KYLIE, THAT'S MY DOG.
SO GOOD LUCK IN COLLEGE AND STUFF.
UM, BUT, UH, BUT OH, AND I DO THANK YOU FOR MY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
SO I'M NOT GONNA BE LONG-WINDED.
I JUST WANNA BE ABLE TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RECOGNITION.
UM, ANAYA HASS PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO IT.
UM, HER COACHES, THEY GO ALL ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT I WAS TRULY ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT SAID ANAYA SHOULD NOT PLAY BASKETBALL 'CAUSE SHE JUST WAS NOT, UH, GOOD AT IT.
UM, BUT, UH, THEY, SHE WASN'T.
AND I, I CAN'T THANK MY PARENTS ENOUGH.
UM, THEY ENCOURAGED ME NOT TO GIVE UP WHEN I SAY TAKE HER OUT THE GANG 'CAUSE SHE'S EMBARRASSING
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THEY ALL WERE SO ENCOURAGING.
SO TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO REPRESENT NOT JUST HERSELF BUT THE SCHOOL AND EVERYBODY ELSE HERE, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY.
I REMEMBER WHEN SHE WAS LITTLE.
OH YEAH, MOM, YOU CAN HAVE A SEAT, BUT ANAYA DON'T GO ANYWHERE.
I WOULD NOW LIKE TO BRING UP THE REST OF THE WEST ORANGE MOUNTAINEERS.
WITH COACH WILLIAMS WHO RECENTLY TOOK HOME TWO CHAMPIONSHIP WINS.
AND NOW A FEW DETAILS ABOUT THE TEAM.
WHEN I WAS A KID, GIRLS WEREN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY BASKETBALL AFTER EIGHTH GRADE.
IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES WHEN I WAS TEACHING AT WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL, THEY CHANGED THE RULES AND GIRLS WERE ALLOWED TO PLAY AND EVERYONE WAS SO HAPPY, ESPECIALLY ME BECAUSE I LOVE BASKETBALL.
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A FEW DETAILS ABOUT THE TEAM.THE FEBRUARY, THE WEST ORANGE MOUNTAINEERS GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM WON THE 2025 ESSEX COUNTY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP DEFEATING MONTCLAIR IMMACULATE 43.
THEN IN MARCH, THE MOUNTAINEERS WENT ON TO WIN THE 2025 N-J-S-I-A-A STATE SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DEFEATING MORRISTOWN 61 39 IN SECTION ONE, GROUP FOUR.
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE TEAM HAS WON EITHER OF THESE CHAMPIONSHIPS.
THE FIRST TIME BEING IN 2019 FOR ESSEX COUNTY AND 2018 FOR THE STATE SECTIONAL.
2025 IS THE FIRST YEAR OF THE TEAM OR ANY BASKETBALL TEAM IN THE SCHOOL'S HISTORY MADE IT TO THE N-J-S-I-A-A GROUP BEFORE CHAMPIONSHIP WOO WOO.
AFTER WINNING THE STATE SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
ALTHOUGH, ALTHOUGH THEY ULTIMATELY LOST SCREW FOUR, IT WAS A CLOSE THREE POINT MATCH AND THE TEAM IS POISED FOR A GREAT FUTURE SUCCESS.
WELL DONE TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE PASSION AND COMMITMENT TO YOUR TEAM.
I AM SURE YOU'LL CONTINUE TO SET RECORDS AND REACH GREATER HEIGHTS.
IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO PRESENT YOU WITH ACCOMMODATIONS FROM THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS.
AND COACH WILLIAMS, WILL YOU PLEASE SAY A FEW WORDS AND TELL US MORE ABOUT THESE OUTSTANDING PLAYERS? I'M GONNA START LIKE ANAYA, I WASN'T PREPARED, SO NO, I'M JUST JOKING.
BUT I JUST WANT TO THINK, UH, THE PARENTS, UM, WHAT ANAYA, I'M SORRY.
UM, I JUST WANNA THANK THE PARENTS, UH, FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE TO ALLOW US TO MAINTAIN FOCUS AND GET TO WHERE WE, UH, ARE NOW AND WHERE WE GOT THE SEASON.
UH, I WANNA THANK MY COACHING STAFF, UH, FOR DOING EVERYTHING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PREPARED COUNTLESS HOURS OF WATCHING FILM AND PREPARATION.
UH, I WANNA THANK THE GIRLS FOR TRUSTING US AND TRUSTING OUR VISIONS AND DOING WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE TO GET US AS FAR, UM, AS WE SAID EARLIER.
ULTIMATELY WE CAME UP SHORT IN THE END, BUT WE WON THE BIGGER FIGHT.
UM, WE HAVE MADE HISTORY AND I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF ALL OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
UM, AND THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE GOING TO COLLEGE, I WISH YOU THE BEST, BUT THOSE OF YOU ARE COMING BACK.
WE ARE GOING FOR A WEEK, PETE.
SO THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR HAVING US.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE COMMISSIONER LEN LUCIANO, WHO HAS JOINED US.
AND NOW WE HAVE ACCOMMODATIONS TO PRESENT TO EACH PERSON.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT AND ARE WATCHING ONLINE TODAY IN SUPPORT OF THESE INCREDIBLE YOUNG PEOPLE.
THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATIONS, PLAYERS AND THEIR GUESTS.
PLEASE STAY IN THE CHAMBERS BRIEFLY TO TAKE GROUP PHOTOS.
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS CONFERENCE MEETING WILL BEGIN AT FIVE O'CLOCK.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR MARVELOUS, MARVELOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT.
I'M PROUD OF WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL.
WE WANT TO SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT YEAR, SO ABSOLUTELY NOT A SENIOR.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN.