[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 4351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  SALUTE TO THE 2001 NORTH DAKOTA CLASS B CHAMPION NORTH BORDER BOYS 
                            BASKETBALL TEAM

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I want to congratulate the North 
Border Eagles who were recently crowned state champions at the 2001 
North Dakota Class B boys basketball tournament in Minot, ND. The 
Eagles beat number-one ranked Cando, ND 74-65 in the tournament's 
championship game to claim the state's top spot in Class B basketball. 
I congratulate Eagles Coach Dave Symington, his coaching staff and the 
players on their accomplishment. Members of the team include Jacob 
Anderson, Aaron Bonaime, Mike Brown, Nathan Carrier, Anthony Chaput, 
Matt Defoe, Dennis Delude, Warren Eagan, Kyle Rollness, Kevin Schaler, 
Travis Stegman, Chris Stremick, Chad Symington and Jason Tryan.
  But I stand before the U.S. Senate not only to share with you the 
boxscore of the final game of the North Dakota Class B boys basketball 
season, but to tell you the remarkable story of how they got there. 
It's a story that many of you from rural States may recognize. 
Everyone, though, will be inspired by this story of teamwork and 
determination.
  If you look on a North Dakota map, you won't find a community called 
North Border. That is because North Border is not one community, it is 
three different communities that have joined resources in education and 
athletics to compete against shrinking school enrollments.
  North Border is a co-op of three small communities, Neche, Pembina 
and Walhalla, in the far northeastern corner of my state. The 
communities with populations of 434, 634 and 1,131 respectively are 
joined by rolling hills, County Road 55 and a common goal of 
maintaining a high quality of life for its residents while facing the 
realities of a population that is older and smaller.
  The communities' high schools have a combined enrollment of less than 
200. The schools formed the North Border co-op due to the low athlete 
numbers in boys basketball and other sports.
  The schools agreed to rotate the location of practices and games to 
accommodate players and fans in all three communities. While the 
athletes had played together before in summer programs, the transition 
was challenging. The newly formed Eagles lost its second game of the 
season. It was against the Cando Cubs--the team the Eagles would 
eventually meet again in the state tournament. The Eagles soon began 
playing well together as a team and compiled a very impressive 23-2 
record, including a victory in the regional finals over Fordville-
Lankin avenging the Eagles' second loss of the season.
  The team's birth into the state Class B boys basketball tournament 
was the first state tournament experience for either Walhalla or Neche, 
and the first time since 1955 that Pembina went to State. The Eagles 
received no beginner's breaks. All schools who made it to the 
tournament were strong teams and deserve praise for this 
accomplishment. The Eagles were paired against the defending state 
champion Fargo Oak Grove team in the first round. As they had all 
season, the Eagles relied on their defense and a strong balanced 
offense to move past Oak Grove and their second opponent, the Dickinson 
Trinity Titans, to advance to the championship game. Four players 
scored in double figures in the opening game and five players did the 
same in North Border's win over the Titans.
  The two victories put the Eagles in the title game to face the team 
that gave the Eagles their first loss on the season a 28 point loss at 
home. Again, in a performance marked by team balance, four North Border 
players scored in double digits including a team high 21 points by 
junior guard/forward Dennis Delude to give the Eagles a victory over 
previously unbeaten Cando. Three Eagle players--senior Aaron Bonaime, 
junior Nathan Carrier and Delude--were named to the State Class B All-
Tournament Team. The journey these three communities made to become 
state champions is truly remarkable and inspiring. Once again, 
congratulations to all those involved in the Eagles successful season 
and to all teams who made it to this year's tournament.

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