Board honors standouts in academics and sports BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer MARLBORO - Accomplishments abound at both Marlboro middle schools as the Board of Education announced achievements made by students at each school in sports and academics. Students who participate in these events received applause and recognition from their peers, parents and administrators on Nov. 20. The Hawks of Marlboro Middle School, Route 520, made school history at the Monmouth County Interscholastic Cross Country League's Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park on Oct. 24. Top runners were selected to participate in the meet based on their performances throughout the season. Anjelique Luca, Danielle Iannotta, Kristen Kim, Kerry Mc- Donough, Sasha Elizar, Jon Siegel, John Mugavero, Tyler Komack, Jared Kleinberg, Phil Kubie, Andrew Doukas and Peter Ottaviano were chosen to represent their school in Holmdel. The race is a challenging 1.5-mile cross country course. Medals were awarded to the top 50 finishers in each race and the Hawks brought home a total of five medals. Medalists were Anjelique Luca, Jon Siegel, Tyler Komack, Jared Kleinberg and John Mugavero. Making history on his own, John Mugavero placed 10th overall in the race, a level that had never been accomplished by a Marlboro Middle School runner. The boys team finished seventh out of 23 teams. A record of 5-2 placed the team third in its division. Coach Caolan Sinisi was present at the meeting to introduce team members who filled the board's meeting room. The cross country team also has teacher JoAnn Klish as a coach. The Marlboro Memorial Middle School, Nolan Road, also made history in sports. The Monarch Lions eighth grade boys soccer team captured the National Conference title of the Ferris Antoon/Jim Carrigan Soccer League. Coach Michael Nausedas presented his team, which defeated Wall, 1-0, to capture the title. Nausedas said the team, which consists of 16 young men, was the first group of players to have the determination to earn a banner for their school's gymnasium. The coach recalled how at the beginning of the season the players told him they would get that banner. Their determination paid off and gained their school its first championship. Students from both of Marlboro's middle schools competed in the CBA Math Competition on Oct. 20. The competition, held at Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, is a yearly event in which more than 40 schools from around New Jersey participate. The event is open to seventh- and eighth-graders. Approximately 320 students from throughout New Jersey participated in the individual competition. Marlboro Middle School's team members were Jason Feinberg, Stephen Guo, Alex Lew, Alexa Shea, Sunny Zhang, Angela Zhou, James Zhang and Kevin Zhou. Three of Marlboro Middle School's students tied for fifth place with perfect scores in the individual competition. Alex Lew, Alexa Shea and Kevin Zhou all took home trophies for their perfect scores. Math team adviser Marcia Wilson said 40 students tried out for the math team but she was only allowed to take eight to the competition. Wilson said she was proud of the students who spent hours preparing for the event. Overall in the competition the team came in second place and received a trophy. Donna Laslo, math team adviser at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School, also introduced her team: Vinay Ayyala, Max Flores, Daniel Lumer, Andrew Ng, Sanjana Salwi, Parag Srivastava, Angelica Chen and David Wong. Laslo noted that Vinay Ayyala, Max Flores and David Wong were among the students who received a perfect score in the individual competition. The team placed sixth in the competition. Laslo said she was proud of the students who worked hard to earn these honors.