On Friday, September 25th, the PAC was filled with people looking forward to seeing who is going to be crowned this year’s Mr.WA. At 7:00 pm, the 11 contestants took the stage.

This year’s winner was Stephen Wang. He was escorted by Caroline Baggeroer. For the talent part of the show, he demonstrated a dance with glow in the dark clothes. With the PAC pitch black, only the glowing neon parts of his outfit were visible, leaving a stick figure-like man effect.

“I was definitely surprised that I won, especially because of all the amazing people and talent that I was up against,” said Wang.

The 2nd runner up was Will O’Neal, who recited a memoir he wrote about his freshmen year in high school. Consisting of humor and heartfelt words, the crowd cheered when he was finished.

The 3rd runner up this year was Patrick Coffey, who read aloud slam poetry he wrote. His piece was called “Maze of Life” which highlighted how choices and life decisions are made and how they shape people. As motivation, Coffey had a school bottle of chocolate milk. He described how the chocolate milk portions supposedly decreased and how angered he had become because of it. By bringing laughter to the audience and motivation to himself, he was successfully able to read his poetry.

“I didn’t win, but I had so much fun. It was a great experience and everyone who was there is extremely talented. I love making and reciting my slam poem, and I am so glad I decided to do it. I am still not happy with the milk bottles though,” said Coffey.

There are three rounds that the contestants are judged in to ultimately decide who is Mr.WA. The first round is judged on formal wear, following that is the question and answer round where the contestants are each asked a question and are judged on their answer. The final round is the talent portion of the show.

Some of the men played the piano as their talent portion. Kadar Qian, the first contestant, played an intricate song. Matt Gagnon sang “Cry Me a River” along with playing the piano. Nick Fiorillo played a song dedicated to his escort. Callan Rendall exhibited his musical improv skills by playing a song based on two celebrities at random, Oprah and Obama. Each person showed amazing talent by playing the piano.

“Mr.WA was a really special night for all of us. It was such a privilege to share the stage with such talented folks and to perform for such a supportive crowd. Honestly, I think Mr.WA manifests the extreme caliber of our entire class, and I’m so proud to be a member of it” says Qian.

Ryan Dunn sang a song called “My Way” while a slideshow presentation of embarrassing photos throughout his life played. This caused laughter throughout the auditorium. Sai Balabhadrapatruni also sang an intense song called “I’m feeling good.” Anthony Giovino sang “We didn’t start the fire.” Elijah Richards played a ukulele and sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

As the night came to an end, all the contestants and their escorts danced on the stage and everyone applauded at the talent that was conveyed.