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Student earns pageant title
The shortstop for Mountain Home High School's baseball team took home more than $500 in scholarship money while earning the title of Mr. MHHS during an award presentation last week.
The high school's Business Professionals of America presented its 9th Annual Mr. MHHS Pageant title to Danny Brescia -- one of eight students vying for the honor during the April 2 event.
Levi Abrahamson went on to earn first runner up while Jeremy Cruz finished as the second runner up.
Others competing for this year's honor were Liam Condon, John Frierson, Levi Gunderson, Ibraheem "Pete" Ramadan and Brandon Reyes.
The motivation to participate differed among participants. Ramadan felt the competition was simply a way to get together for an evening of fun while Condon considered it a chance to receive "the full experience Mountain Home High School has to offer." Meanwhile, Gunderson joined the event simply because he wanted to break out of his "shell."
The program serves as a key a fundraiser for the high school's Business Professionals of America club. Money raised will help defray costs for the group's upcoming competitions.
This year, six students with the Business Professionals of America club at the high school attended a state-level competition in early March with two nominated to attend the national gathering, which begins April 28 in Indianapolis.
"I thought it was another great event at Mountain Home High School this year," said Principal Jeff Johnson. "We had eight great participants, who all did a great job. It takes a lot of courage to get in front of your peers and community members to perform, and I thought they all handled themselves very well."
Club organizers consider the yearly event a "humorous, entertaining event" that gives the senior boys a chance for a scholarship while serving as successful fundraiser for the high school club.
Members of the Business Professionals of America club considered the pageant fundraiser a success after it raised approximately $1,300 during the evening, said Janet Webb, who oversees the high school organization. She credited the team of volunteers, local business owners and others that helped make this year's pageant possible.
The win the title, each candidate competed in seven categories that tested their physical fitness, personal attire and talent, evening wear and academics along with a question and answer session.
In the strength test, contestants cranked out push-ups and sit-ups in a set time limit followed by a freestyle performance. After the initial fitness events, Cruz hammed it up in a light sabre duel against a student dressed up as a Sith lord from the Star Wars universe while Condon sent an opponent literally flying overhead during a two-person tug-of-war contest.
But in the end, Brescia would go on to sweep the fitness event, earning his first award of the night.
The evening's lineup moved on to the talent showcase, allowing each teen to demonstrate their musical abilities, dance moves or their sense of humor.
Gunderson, an aspiring firm editor and producer, used his skills to create a presentation he aired before the audience while Frierson captured some air time during a skateboard demonstration.
Meanwhile, Condon strummed on his guitar as he performed the Johnny Cash classic, "Folsom Prison Blues." A member of the high school choir, he selected that song because it's the one people will start singing any time they hear the county singer's name.
Brescia would go on to win the event as he teamed up with his fellow classmates to perform a variation of synchronized swimming. With a blue, waist-high curtain blocking the audience's view, the teen and his friends would pop up to perform various moves similar to those seen in Olympic-style competitions before they would literally dive out of sight.
"I do have to admit that I thought the 'synchronized swimming' performance may have been one of the funniest things I have ever seen," Johnson said.
The evening's festivities then shifted direction during the evening wear contest, which allowed the teens and their escorts to step out in a range of attire. While competitors like Gunderson and Reyes were decked out in traditional suits, Ramadan and his escort, Heather Adams, stepped out in attire taken from the Disney film "Aladdin."
But it was Abrahamson that captured the spotlight when he and his escort, Morgan Vivier, came dressed as characters from the book Alice in Wonderland. According to Vivier, they borrowed the costumes from her aunt, who made everything from scratch, including the Mad Hatter's top hat that Abrahamson wore.
Each contestant was then put on the spot during the evening's question and answer period. Drawing random questions from a hat, the teens had just a few seconds to craft a response.
Reyes, for example, was asked what type of competition, past or future, he would want to win. He responded that he wanted to be the one that was the first to discover America, "so I could name it after myself."
Meanwhile, Gunderson was asked to name the person that inspires him the most. He admitted that "anyone or anything that has my sense of humor is what inspires me."
It was Cruz that would go on to win the event to secure his first award of the evening. He would go on to win his second honor during the cake auction. His efforts helped raise a majority of the $860 collected during these sales.
However, it was Brescia that actually earned the highest single sum during the auction after his mother paid $105 for one of the baked treats.
The academic part of last week's pageant focused heavily on the scholastic aptitude of each competitor, based on overall grade-point averages and the level of difficulty associated with their respective classes. Abrahamson picked up his second award of the evening by standing out amongst his peers.
As the evening drew to a close, members of the Business Professionals of America club cast their votes on who they felt met the definition of "Mr. Congeniality." Cruz would go on to earn the club's nod for that distinction to earn his third award that evening.
Looking back at this year's event, Brescia admitted earning the honor came with having "tons of fun" competing with his friends.
Earning the distinction "represents the spirit of competitiveness of Mountain Home High School and (for students) to do whatever it takes to win," he said.