11th Mr. Panther contest at Johnston High a success

On March 20, the 11th annual Mr. Panther was held in the Johnston High School auditorium.

The night began at 6:30 p.m. with a round of “Deal or No Deal” hosted by junior Student Council member Mike Mardo. On Friday morning, an announcement was made for “Deal or No Deal” signups. One boy and one girl were randomly picked out of a jar of names. Junior Jonathan Soto played the first game and won a $20 Chipotle gift card. Following him, senior Zoe Griffin completed an intensive doubled round where all cash prizes were double their original amount, but ultimately walked away with free popcorn for the upcoming 2016 football season. This year, the competition was hosted by senior and Homecoming Queen Taylor Russo.

After “Deal or No Deal” concluded, the Mr. Panther competition began with our nine male contestants – Ray Saleh, Gian Paola, Mike Caparco, Aaron Perfetto, Louie Sasa, Devin Soares, Brian Campanelli, Nick Sabetta and Isaiah Fravien – introducing themselves to the crowd. This year’s acts were not only creative and funny, but well put together as well. Our contestants’ hard work and dedication were clearly shown.

In between acts, the four grades battled in heated rounds of “Family Feud,” where the senior class was ultimately victorious. The members of the senior class team were each awarded $15 Applebee’s gift cards. Following them was the freshmen class team, which won $10 Domino’s gift cards. In third place was the sophomore class team, which received $5 Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards. Lastly, the junior class team came in fourth place and was awarded a coupon for free tater tots at lunch.

After completing the other categories – commercial, famous impersonation, talent, formal wear, and question (for the top 5) – Aaron Perfetto placed the highest, becoming this year’s Mr. panther. As well as winning the title, Aaron won a free prom ticket and will be apart of next year’s Homecoming Parade.

Coming in second place was junior Gian Paola, who received a cash prize of $100. Third place was given to senior Mike Caparaco, who received a cash prize of $80. Fourth place was given to senior Louie Sasa, who received a cash prize of $60. In fifth place was junior Ray Saleh who received a cash prize of $40.

Overall, the night was a success and couldn’t have happened without the hard work of Student Council advisor Greg Russo and all the members of the Student Council that helped. We would like to extend a thank you to the students and staff that attended the event, as well as the judges who volunteered their time. Their support made the night a success and we are looking forward to seeing everyone next year. Congrats to all the winners!