Pat-Med Middle School Idol Crowned

Oregon Middle School students took the top three places in the middle school edition of the Patchogue-Medford Idol competition Friday night at Saxton Middle School.

Eighth-grader Julianne Ferrelli won the competition with seventh-grader Alexis Hillman taking second and Gia Pina, also a seventh-grader, taking third.

Ferrelli won a $100 gift card from the PTA Council, Broadway tickets to Rain donated by radio station WALK and a recording session by Paradiddle Records. Prizes for other finalists included gift cards, dance lessons and a DVD of the competition. All contestants received a trophy and T-shirt from the .

Ferrelli said she plans to try out for the high school edition of the competition when she moves up for the next academic year.

The auditorium was filled to capacity with friends and family members cheering on the 30 contestants who qualified during the . Cindy Cristman and JoAnn Biggs, co-producers of the event and members of the PTA Council, stated that 100 percent of the event's proceeds go to Arts in Education which assists with programs such as assemblies, bringing authors-in-residence to the schools, as well as scholarships.

Check out the for highlights from the finals and ... ....