Toms River TEAM students win scholarship awards

Seven standout students in Toms River head to college with financial boosts, courtesy of township police, municipal officials and the Toms River Regional school district.

Flanked by Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher (l) and Police Chief Mitchell Little (r) are (front, l-r) Misty Patel, Michelle Gao, Cereta Dellago; (rear, l-r) Hunter Petrick, Megan Laggner, Vincent Tran, Caitlin Maire

Megan Laggner, Misty Patel, Vincent Tran, Michelle Gao, Cereta Dellago, Caitlin Maire and Hunter Petrick received scholarship awards of $500 to $1,500 in ceremonies at Town Hall.

The awards reflect involvement in the TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) program, a school-sponsored initiative dedicated to civic responsibility and student service.

Five-hundred-dollar awards were given to Laggner, of High School South; Patel, of High School East; and Tran and Gao, of High School North.

Dellago and Maire, of High School East, and Petrick, of High School North, were given $1,500 each as recipients of the Mark Catalano Scholarship program.

The Catalano awards commemorate the former Toms River police detective and triathlete, who died while training for a competition, at age 54.

Funding stems from the Toms River Police Foundation's annual Jingle Bell Run. The December 5K event, coordinated by Lieutenant James Everett, drew more than 600 runners, according to police spokesman Ralph Stocco.

The Foundation also issued $1,500 to the TEAM program and $250 to the Ocean County Library.

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