Little Silver students face off in final round of scholarship competition

1.) Little Silver residents William Ferguson, 17, and Cliff O’Malley, 18, qualified for the final round of the first annual ScholarGames.com scholarship competition at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort in Florida last Saturday.

According to the Asbury Park Press, Ferguson and O’Malley were given “20 minutes to compete in five online computer games, with the goal of getting the highest possible score,” for the chance to win “a maximum of $10,000 to put toward their college education.”

“With only two minutes left in the competition, Ferguson’s laptop abruptly shut off while he was in the middle of a game, causing the company execs to declare a do-over, and the 20 minute competition started anew.”

Seventeen-year-old Erik Martina of Aurora, Ill. beat out the 14 other student finalists, receiving 10k in scholarship cash through a 529 contribution.

“Ferguson and O’Malley were joined by their friends Andrew Kamp, 17, of Shrewsbury [and] Pat Moore, 17, of Little Silver, also students at Red Bank Regional,” APP.com reports. “All the boys were counted among the site’s top performers, qualifying them for a free trip to Orlando, Fla. for the competition.”

2.) Paulette Russell Barham, a Shore Regional alum and record-breaking swimmer who competed in the 1988 Olympic trials while still in high school, was recently inducted into the Clemson University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Barham won six state championships during her time at Shore, and still holds the state record in the 500-yard freestyle.

At Clemson University, Barham was a five-time All-American who won four Atlantic Coast Conference titles and was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Swim Team. Click here for the full story.

3.) Duke of Mischief, who won the Iselin at Monmouth Park last summer, is expected to make his 2011 debut in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Classic in Hallandale Beach, Fla. on Jan. 29.

4.) There will be a Red Bank Regional PTO meeting at 7:30 p.m. in Rm. 109 of the high school.

5.) , the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority will host a 7 p.m. informational meeting at Maple Place School tonight to “keep the public informed and engaged on the effort to redevelop Fort Monmouth.”