Tuesday, February 26 was FTHS’ beloved event, Mr. FTHS. For those who did not attend or who are unfamiliar with what Mr. FTHS is, it’s essentially a chance for a handful of male seniors to compete for the title of “Mr. FTHS,” all through showing their talents, congeniality, and more. It’s something that is a tradition here at Freehold Township High School, and is always highly anticipated by the senior class.

This year’s contestants were: Evan Nastarowicz, Nick Elimanco, Cristian Corcione, Tom Silvestrone, Johnny Manfre, Michael Woods, Mike Poleschuk, David Jolly, Seth Meisner, Zach Barilka, Chris Orrico, Zach Simon, Jonathon Bittner, Justin Caro, Kyle Von Nessen, Sahitya Yadav, Aidan Purcell, and Max Pirozzi. All of these boys had something very unique and special to bring to the table during the competition, whether that be their looks, talents, or just goofiness.

The show began with a group dance that was clearly well-rehearsed and very fun to watch. Take a look at it here:

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After the introductory group dance was the swimwear round, which was definitely a favorite of the audience. Looks ranged from tank tops and sandals all the way to shirtless with board shorts. Every outfit was surely unique, with some contestants choosing to mix and match their swimwear styles. However, there was more than just bathing suits that appeared in this round; surfboards, flippers, and floaties are just some examples of props that some boys used to really heighten their summer looks. It may have been a chilly day in February, but nothing stopped the contestants from going all out in this category.

The next round consisted of small groups showing off their “talents.” Zach Barilka and Seth Meisner chose to reenact the famous Spongebob Squarepants scene of Mr. Krabs and Spongebob singing “Without You,” which was definitely entertaining to watch. Other groups chose to dance their way into the audiences hearts, whether it be comedic – such as Evan Nastarowicz, Tom Silvestrone, Max Pirozzi, and Johnny Manfre’s group – or just plain fun, like David Jolly, Michael Woods, and Mike Poleschuk’s number. Needless to say, it was very entertaining to watch the boys show the audience their “talents,” and they for sure won over the judges with their creativity.

After watching a blooper video that gave the gentlemen time to get ready backstage, it was time for the third round: formal wear. With tuxedos generously donated for the night by Dante Zeller, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that the contestants were going to look their absolute best. Each contestant had a female escort that accompanied them on their walk across the stage, some performing quick handshakes and others going as far as carrying their escort off the stage with them. There was even a promposal by Max Pirozzi to his escort, which the audience loved. The boys looked sharp in their tuxedos, and earned themselves even more points from the judges in this round.

The final round in the Mr. FTHS competition was a question-and-answer session with each contestant. Small groups were called out at a time, with each contestant in the group having to pick a question out of a bag for them to answer within the given time limit. Their responses were judged based on their content and delivery. Some responses were funny, and others heartfelt if a contestant chose a question about their memories here at FTHS. The interview round of the competition was a good opportunity to get a deeper look at the contestants and get to know them better.

As the final round came to a close, the judges began tallying their scores. This took quite a while to do, most likely because each contestant did so well. While the audience waited for the results, the boys took it upon themselves to come out on the stage and just do random dancing or anything else funny to pass the time. Finally, it was time to announce the winners. Johnny Manfre won the award for Congeniality, with Evan Nastarowicz being runner up. However, the overall winner of the competition was Kyle Von Nessen, who now gets to proudly have the title of “Mr. FTHS.”

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Overall, Mr. FTHS was a hit this year, as it usually has been every other year. Hopefully it continues for the future generations of FTHS seniors, who can all get the chance to enjoy watching their fellow classmates embarrass themselves and just have fun in front of a large audience of their peers.

Here are some thoughts from audience members and contestants about the competition:

“My favorite part of the whole event was how we all became very close friends in the past two months.” -Mike Poleschuk

“My favorite event of the night was the group talent. It really showed the teamwork and how much we practiced. We couldn’t see the crowd, so we had to base their reaction off of the noise!” -Sahitya Yadav

“My favorite part of the whole thing was watching the boys progress over the course of the practices, and then see how it all came together at the end.” -Stasia Nguyen

“My favorite part of the show was seeing all the talents and how all the guys came together to put on a great show.” -Douglas Sousa

Article and videos by Deryn Younger; Photos by Amit Bachani and Daniel Egan