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Freehold Township Schools honor student essayists, academic teams and athletes
Summary
At its annual recognition meeting, the Freehold Township Board of Education highlighted students who advanced in essay contests, placed in county and state academic competitions, and set school records in track and field and throw events.
The Freehold Township Board of Education on the evening recognized students from across the district for academic and athletic achievements, including two state-level essay finalists, winners from county contests, and multiple school record performances.
Two students from Dwight David Eisenhower Middle School — Mandy Guo and Lily Tortora — were singled out after advancing to higher levels of yearlong essay competitions. John Croft, presenting on behalf of the Elks Lodge contest, noted the contest topic this year was patriotism and said the district submitted multiple entries that moved from local to county rounds before reaching state-level judging. Lily Tortora placed third in the Monmouth County semi‑quincentennial essay contest.
The board also recognized Eisenhower students who competed in a local geography competition developed after the National Geographic Bee ended. John Krupp, an Eisenhower teacher who coordinated the contest, described a multi‑round format that left finalists from sixth through eighth grade vying for top honors; Michael Wood was named the school champion, Adrien Bandong finished second and Arta Selick finished third.
Coaches and music directors announced additional honors. The Eisenhower academic team won two championships this season, and the district’s competition band took a first‑place, superior rating at a Music in the Parks event and received an Esprit de Corps award for student character, Band Director Christine Feldman said. Feldman called the band a “welcoming community” and urged continued district support for the program.
Track and field coaches recognized numerous individual performances across Eisenhower and Barkalow middle schools. Mandy Guo won the girls 100 and the long jump and was named an all‑star meet MVP, a coach said. Xavier Folkes set a district shot‑put and discus standard and recorded a school record throw of 90 feet, 10 inches, according to remarks at the meeting; the board announced he finished first in Monmouth County in shot put and discus and was a league MVP.
Other notable results announced included Mason Asadi setting a school record in the 800 and boys and girls relay teams capturing county and all‑star medals. Coaches repeatedly emphasized student effort and teamwork, saying many award winners trained year‑round and competed against both public and private programs.
The student recognitions were delivered during the public portion of the board’s annual recognition meeting and were followed by a short recess before staff recognition.
The board and administrators named the events and presented certificates and trophies; no policy actions or votes were taken during the recognition segment.
