Cricket And Robotics Champs, Eagle Scout Honored By Township Council

Members of DreamCricket Academy’s Warriors team, who won the National Youth Cricket League National Championship in Minnesota in early July, display their trophy at the Township Council meeting.

Youths’ achievements in scholastics, scouting and sports were highlighted during the July 12 Township Council meeting.

The Cedar Hill Preparatory School’s robotics team, which was part of a first place team in an international competition in Germany, was commended by the council for its milestone, as were two DreamCricket Academy cricket teams, one of which won a national tournament and the other of which placed third.

The Cedar Hill Prep School’s robotic team was the United States’ representative on a multi-national team that took first place in the 2016 RoboCup Junior World Championship in Leipzig, Germany earlier in July.

Members of the Cedar Hill Prep School, with school principal Donald Seeley, far left, Mayor Phillip Kramer and Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad, at podium.

The CHP students were teamed up with students from Mexico and Taiwan in a “superteam” that took first place in the OnStage competition. In this event, robots are “taught” choreography and present the routine on stage.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” Donald Seeley, Cedar Hill’s principal, said at the council meeting. “You not only made Cedar Hill Prep proud, you made your parents proud, you made New Jersey proud and you made the country of America proud.”

“Next year (the championship) is in Japan,” he said. “We want to be there.”

DreamCricket Academy, based in Hillsborough, has many township residents playing on its teams. Its Under 12 team, the Warriors, won the National Youth Cricket League National Championship in Minnesota earlier in the month. Its Under 16 team, the Colts, placed third in the national championship.

The DreamCricket Academy Colts, with academy co-founder Venu Palaparthi.

Speaking of the Warriors team, DreamCricket co-founder Venu Palaparthi said, “They played like champions.”

“They had a lot of perseverance,” he said. “They played with their hearts. Most important of all, they honored the game. They played in the spirit of the game.”

The Colts’ third-place finish “was not a reflection of how well they played,” Palaparthi said. “They only lost one game. Four of the boys made the USA Under 17 team, which is truly an honor.”

The council also commended Jeffrey Clyde Kinghorn, a newly minted Eagle Scout with Boy Scout Troop 600. Kinghorn’s required service project was to build a butterfly garden in the Griggstown Grassland Preserve.

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