From dancing and lip syncing to guessing the brand of chicken nugget, 2025’s Mr. FTHS competition was one of the best yet. Twelve boys got on stage and gave the battle their all, showcasing their various talents and winning over the audience with their charismatic personalities.
Now it was time for the most anticipated event of the night, the talent show. To start us off, Sam Fung displayed a true ability to play the piano, playing multiple tunes, with the crowd breaking into song for Taylor Swift’s Lover and Billy Joel’s Vienna. With this great start, Brighton took another route with his talent, displaying a capability to guess where chicken nuggets were from based on taste alone, bringing a bit of humor to this segment. Grant and Danny came together and put in the work to serenade the audience with One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful, segwaying into other songs such as Payphone by Maroon 5 and even You’ll Be Back from Hamilton.
Soon later was Marcello Carmelo who put together an extremely entertaining dance to Rihanna’s Umbrella and other Rihanna songs, even ending with his two backup dancers pointing umbrellas displaying his initials ‘M.C.’ towards the crowd. All of the boys showed up and showed out, displaying their true talents, including Ian Soskel’s Party in the USA rendition, Yousuf Khalid’s stand-up comedy, Nicholas Karl singing Bruno Mars, and Dylan Mariconda’s impressive dance moves. The final act of the night was a moving depiction of Zach Bryan’s Something in the Orange, both sung and played on the guitar by Zach Greenberg.
While the boys went backstage to recuperate after giving it their all on stage, the audience watched a Behind The Scenes video on the process of Mr. FTHS. There was an inside view on what the frequent and long practices were like, but the boys seemed to sincerely enjoy this experience and despite complaints about the practice schedule, none of them would change a thing.
The boys were able to walk across stage one by one for the final time before the voting, accompanied by their lovely escorts. Each duo was dressed to the nines and were showing off their style. However, there was one thing
left to do before Mr. FTHS could be crowned. The Q&A. The boys were brought out in groups of four to answer one question each. Each boy answered their question to the best of their ability, with Danny Vlacich even saying that the best lesson he learned at Freehold Township High School was to “really treat others the way you want to be treated.” Many of them talked about their favorite parts of being at FTHS and teachers that have helped them pave the way. Marcello Carmelo earned an emotional reaction from the crowd when he said that his environmental science teacher, Ms. Jessop, taught him that there is more to a relationship between teacher and student than learning; there is also an emotional connection.
After an absolute whirlwind of a night, the judges had a big decision to make. While the votes were tallied, the winners of the exclusive graduation parking spot and lawn sign raffles were announced. Senior superlatives were also read out, sparking a roar in the crowd, which mostly consisted of seniors, excited to support their peers who had won.
At last, it was the moment everyone had been waiting for. It was time to crown 2025’s Mr. FTHS. To start off, Ian Soskel was deemed Mr. Congeniality, the participant with the friendliest personality and best attitude towards the competition. Following this, the two first runners up were announced: Grant Feldman and Dylan Mariconda.
And now, it was finally time to find out who won the crown. The tension in the room was palpable, with all of the boys on stage anxious to see which one of them won and the audience on the edge of their seats. By popular vote from the panel of judges, or teachers, the title of Mr. FTHS went to Marcello Carmelo, who had stolen the hearts of the judges and the audience with his charisma and skills. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as Marcello was crowned, and by the look on his face, this was an experience he would never forget.
Overall, this year’s Mr. FTHS was one of the most memorable to date. It is an amazing experience to both witness and participate in. This event creates an abundance of school spirit and gets all students, even underclassmen, hyped up and excited for when it will finally be their turn to take to that stage. This production required hours of effort, practice, and hard work, and none of it would have been possible without the choreographers, advisors, and the boys themselves. They should all be extremely proud of themselves, as this show did not disappoint!
