[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 46 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E493-E494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LOWER MERION HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM

                                 ______


                            HON. JON D. FOX

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 29, 1996

  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
a group of student athletes who scaled the mountain of athletic success 
while keeping their feet firmly planted in the soil of educational 
excellence.
  Recently, the boys basketball team from Lower Merion High School 
captured the class AAAA championship by beating a fine team from Erie 
Cathedral Prep 48 to 43. After streaking through a phenomenal season 
with a 31-3 record, the Aces captured their first State title since 
1943.
  This athletic achievement is a testament to their exceptional 
teamwork, commitment to excellence and their remarkable drive to 
achieve the finest in athletics. The hard work and dedication of Coach 
Gregg Downer, his staff and the fine young men paid off as they 
achieved the ultimate success for a high school basketball team in 
Pennsylvania.
  These young men are shining examples of the best and brightest in 
America. Among the team members is Kobe Bryant whose 33 point average 
per game and stellar abilities have made him the No. 1 high school 
basketball player in the Nation.
  But this high school and the outstanding Lower Merion School District 
of which it is a part represent more than excellence in athletics. Six 
of the district's nine schools have received the national Blue Ribbon 
designation

[[Page E494]]

from the U.S. Department of Education. Lower Merion has a record number 
of National Merit Scholars and its students have just won their fifth 
consecutive State championship in the Academic Decathlon.
  The achievements of the students and athletes of Lower Merion 
represent all that is good about our public education system. The 
school district and the students educated there are a monument to what 
can happen when local officials and parents work together to craft an 
educational and athletic program which provides a well-rounded 
background as these young men and women prepare for their adult lives.
   Mr. Speaker, as the Representative who has been given the honor of 
serving the people of Lower Merion and the entire 13th Congressional 
District, I offer my congratulations to the student athletes of the 
Lower Merion Boys Basketball Team, their coaches, and families on the 
occasion of this great State championship. And I offer best wishes for 
a future I know has been forged in the fires of hard work, strengthened 
by the dedication to excellence, brightened by the light of potential 
and nourished by a caring community and family.

                          ____________________