[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10180]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE NANTAHALA SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM OF MACON COUNTY, NORTH 
                                CAROLINA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HEATH SHULER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2010

  Mr. SHULER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the basketball team 
of the Nantahala School in Macon County, North Carolina. The team had 
an exceptional season, finishing with a record of 23-7 and an 
appearance in the regional semi-final game.
  Their season would be considered impressive for a team from any 
school, but this team comes from remarkable circumstances. There are 
only 36 students in the school, 18 of which are men. Over half the 
eligible students play on the basketball team. From one of the smallest 
schools in the State of North Carolina, this group of young men was 
able to hold their own against teams from much larger schools.
  Making their success less probable, the school graduated some 
excellent basketball players last year, retiring three jerseys. The 
class of 2009 accounted for over 3,000 career points. Fortunately, this 
year's seniors--Jordan West, Wesley Holden, Josh Griffith, Jerrod 
Crosby, and Woody Passmore--were equally impressive in fulfilling their 
leadership roles.
  The team's final game against Hendersonville High School in the 
regional semifinals was a testament to their perseverance. Trailing at 
one point by 16 points, it seemed the odds were against them. Still, 
the team played with everything they had. With 43 seconds remaining, 
Jordan West gave Nantahala the lead. Hendersonville managed to pull 
back ahead, but Nantahala fell only three points short of playing in 
the regional finals for a spot in the North Carolina State championship 
game.
  Some of the team achieved special recognition for their outstanding 
seasons. Wesley Holden averaged 13 points per game and was selected to 
play in the Blue-White all-star game. Josh Griffith, averaging 18 
points per game, was selected to play in the Blue-White all-star game 
and the regional all-tournament team. Coach Josh Taylor and Assistant 
Coach Tom Dillard have created a strong program, and I doubt this is 
the last we have heard from this small school in the mountains.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
impressive Nantahala School basketball team for their accomplishments 
and wishing them continued success in future years.

                          ____________________