BAYVILLE – Brayden Cimorelli of Island Heights has been named the recipient of the Ocean County Mayors’ Association William T. Hornidge Memorial Scholarship, awarded annually to the student with the highest-grade point average among graduating seniors from Ocean County’s 21 high schools.
A graduate of Central Regional High School, Cimorelli served as valedictorian of his class and earned the school’s top academic honor. This fall, he will attend the University of Notre Dame as a pre-med major.
“Just the fact that someone from a small town like Island Heights can have the highest GPA in the county meant a lot to me,” Cimorelli said. “When they called my name for that [Hornidge Scholarship], I was really surprised.”
In addition to his academic achievements, Cimorelli was a standout athlete, starting in the outfield for Central Regional’s Golden Eagles baseball team and playing club baseball for the New Jersey Marlins. He also gave back to his community as a volunteer basketball coach at Island Heights Grade School and with the Toms River Basketball Association.
At Central, Cimorelli was a member of multiple honor societies, including Math, Science, History, Language Arts, and Spanish.
The Hornidge Scholarship, which includes a $1,000 award in addition to the $1,000 Mayors’ Scholarship, is given to the top academic student in Ocean County, selected from the highest GPA students at each high school. Cimorelli and other Mayors’ Scholarship recipients were honored during the Ocean County Superintendents’ Roundtable Student Recognition Breakfast on May 21.
“We are incredibly proud of what Brayden accomplished as a student at Central Regional,” said Principal Angello Mazzuca. “To have the highest GPA in the county is an amazing achievement, and we look forward to following Brayden’s progress at Notre Dame and beyond.”
