On Saturday
April 11th at the Texas Union, The Second Annual Mr. Spirit Pageant Show wowed and amazed a sold
out crowed of 375 while contestants vied for the coveted title of Mr. Spirit 2015. This year’s
pageant gave welcome to returning host’s Chris Aikman and Spirit Maria
Benson. The judges for this year's event included 2014 Philanthropy Haunt Alexa Gould, Whitney Harden, a wish kid from the Make a
Wish foundation and the newly elected student body president Xavier Rotnofsky
and vice president Rohit Mandalapu (counted as one voting body).
The show
opened with the contestants dancing to “Uptown Funk”, choreographed by our own
2014 Spirit Haunts Marnie Lemonik and Kelsey Ni. Then, the competition began
with the introduction of each contestant with their choice female partner and a
walk out song. Each pair donned an outfit of choice, which ranged from
Olympians in togas to Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. There was even an
appearance by Ken and Barbie!
After all introductions
were made, we came into the stride of the competition: the talent portion. The audience
was blown away by opener Shawn Killian (Mr. Texas 4000), who performed a
unicycle routine. At one point he even rode his unicycle with his partner on
his shoulders! Stand out Divine Ntomchukwu (Mr. Absolute Texxas) performed “The Evolution
of Beyoncé” dance, all the way from the days of Destiny’s Child to recent hit “Partition”.
Armand Chauvin III (Mr. Alpha Psi) impressed everyone with his stylish and
precise step routine. Another highlight was Carlos Martinez’s rendition of
combined rap songs with Austin food themed lyrics.
Following
intermission, the top ten contestants were announced and the presentation of
“The Ideal Date” occurred. Conner Breen (Mr. Blazers) took us into the future with his “Mr. Incredible” themed date and Baylor Morrison (Mr. Camp Texas) sported a Thor outfit
and a showed us a date good enough for the Norse Gods.
The
competition narrowed once more to the top five, which included Brian Schwall
(Mr. Tejas), Terry Hillis (Mr. Ignite Texas), Shawn Killian (Mr. Texas 4000),
Baylor Morrison (Mr. Camp Texas) and Connor Breen (Mr. Blazers). These five men
then dove into the nerve-wracking interview round, where they each drew a question
from a fish bowl and then gave their best responses. Terry Hillis gave an
elaborate and entertaining series of movements to answer the question “Describe
a rainbow to a blind person?” Next, Shawn Killian was asked “Describe endless
love?” to which he replied “Its like seeing a rainbow for the very first time!”
Finally,
the time to crown the new Mr. Spirit had arrived. Mr. Spirit 2014 Kevin Helgren
gave parting words as he prepared to pass on his title. First, Baylor Morrison
(Mr. Camp Texas) was announced as Mr. Congeniality, awarded to whoever garnered the most
social media support and had the overall best attitude during the weeks prior to
competition. Mr. Philanthropy, who raised the most money the week before the
show was Divine Ntomchujwu (Mr. Absolute Texxas). Then, Mr. Spirit 2015 was announced as……
Shawn Killian for Texas 4000! During his crowning moment, judge and student body president Xavier Rotnofsky fed
him pie in celebration.
The night
was most certainly one to be remembered for years to come! From the entirety of the event about $3,500 was
raised for our philanthropies, The Make a Wish Foundation and Saint Louise
House. A special thanks to our 2015 Philanthropy Haunt Alex Lawrence and the
Mr. Spirit Planning Committee for putting on a spectacular show and to all of
our wonderful contest for having the most positive attitudes and best
personalities that a male pageant show could ask to have! Stay tuned until next year
when the Third Annual Mr. Spirit Pageant Show comes back to dazzle our campus
again!
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