12 Montclair Pop Warner Bulldogs Selected to National Team

The Montclair Recreation/Pop Warner Cheerleading and Football Program is pleased to announce that 12 of its participants were selected to the National Pop Warner Little Scholars Academic Team: fifth graders Jeffery Keys and Patrick Cauhley; sixth grader Quentin Lemon; seventh graders Robert Bigelow, Sebastian Garda, Christian Sanchez, Stephan Urquidi and Julian Zincani; and eighth graders Myles Gomez, Cole Riley, Peter DiGiacomo and Lennox Whitmier.

To be selected, the Pop Warner National organization requires athletes to maintain a 97 percent GPA in the classroom during the school year. More than 8,850 applications were submitted to the Pop Warner national office this year.

“The standards set give our children a sense of responsibility and an appreciation for academics and athletics,” said Youth Activities Coordinator Garland Thornton. “These are qualities that will help them throughout their lives.”

Recipients are invited to attend the 54th Annual All-American Scholar Banquet which will take place Friday, May 23 and Saturday, May 24 at the Disney Yacht Club Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Pop Warner Little Scholars is the only national youth sports organization in America that requires its participants to perform adequately in the classroom before permitting them to play.

The players selected this year played football for the Bulldogs during the past season—Montclair’s most successful season—with two North Jersey cheerleading championships, Junior Pee Wee (grades four and five) and Junior Midget (grades seven and eight), and a football Junior Midget (grades seven and eight) championship.

Submitted by Township of Montclair