By Jillian Farr ’06 and Matt Speer ’05
Staff Writers
On the night of March 11, 2004, the first annual Mr. Trojan contest was underway. No one knew what the night would entail, but everyone was excited to see how it would turn out.
The night started off with an unusual introduction of contestants. Each contestant got to choose an outfit that captured their personality. Some of the more interesting outfits included freshman James McConnell’s “country club member” outfit, complete with a blue sweater on his shoulders and tennis racket to carry; junior Eric Duncan’s “class nerd” style consisted of plaid shorts, suspenders, and taped up glasses; finally, Chris Newberry’s choice of clothing was perhaps the most interesting of the night; he sported a tight velvet dress that left little to the imagination.
As part of the application, the contestants were each asked some questions that were announced the night of the contest. If you could trade places with any woman in the world, who would it be and why? What would you do if you were Mr. Trojan? And what was the worst movie you have ever seen? The audience laughed at almost every answer. Freshman Reed Halterman said he didn’t like the movie “A Walk to Remember” because Mandy Moore died at the end of it. Sophomore Brad Evans said he would most like to change places with Ashley Olsen so that he could get closer to Mary-Kate.
Eric Duncan woos the girls with his amazing ribbon dancing.
While on stage, the contestants were each asked a random question and had to answer it in 30 seconds. When asked what he would do if he only had a week to live, junior Stephen Shaw said that he would take his family to Florida and go to Disney World. This drew a long, “Awwwww!” from the audience. Justin Williams, a junior, pleased the crowd with his rendition of his favorite television theme song, Batman.
After all of the contestants had dazzled the crowd, senior Jackie Holmes entertained the crowd with a song while the scores were tallied. The contestants were brought back onstage for the announcement of the top 10 semi-finalists. As a few of the guys linked arms and crossed their fingers, emcees Holly Hansen and Jeremy Muxworthy announced the lucky ten: freshman James McConnell; juniors Eric Duncan and Justin Williams; and seniors Jeremy Ciak, Mark Kasilus, Adam Tart, Chris Newberry, Nathan Pyle, Nate Watkins, and Robert Shostak.
The semi-finalists were rushed backstage to prepare for the talent competition, which turned out to be the most hilarious part of the night. James McConnell wowed the crowd with his amazing musical abilities. He played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on three glasses filled with water. Eric Duncan stole the show with his ribbon dancing to OutKast’s “Hey Ya.” Jeremy Ciak impressed the audience with his hula-hooping skills, and Adam Tart performed a “slight of foot” card trick. Chris Newberry grossed out half of the audience and impressed the other half when he stuck a balloon up his nose and pulled it out through his mouth. He called his trick “mental floss.”
After the talent portion concluded, the audience was granted a short intermission to buy concessions. A portion of the proceeds was to be donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the real reason that this entertaining night occurred. With the audience rejuvenated and the remaining contestants anxious backstage, it was time to announce the final five guys who would be competing for the coveted title of “Mr. Trojan.” The tension and emotions ran high onstage as the guys were announced. They were freshman James McConnell, junior Eric Duncan, and seniors Jeremy Ciak, Mark Kasilus, and Adam Tart.
Now it was time to get ready for the “Worst Case Scenario” portion of the competition. Each guy was escorted out by the lovely Elan members. They were then paired with a Thespian member to act out their worst case scenario. Jeremy Ciak made the crowd roar with laughter as he acted out being stuck in an elevator with the most annoying person on the planet, played by Robyn Almeida. Jeremy calmed down Robyn in the elevator when he revealed that he was Superman. He tore off his dress shirt and underneath was a Superman T-shirt.
Eric Duncan drew lots of laughter when he had to try to explain to his mom, played by Suzanne Delaney, that he had wrecked her mid-life crisis red Viper. He said that he had to swerve to miss a giant beaver in the middle of the road and that he would need a little bit of wax to cover up the “scratches.” Mark Kasilus had to bring his girlfriend, played by Brooke Yates, home to her parents’ two hours after curfew. Mark was quick with excuses such as having to fly to India to stop world hunger and resolve world peace. By this time, the audience had tears streaming down their faces from laughing so hard.
As the night was coming to an end, it was time to announce the class hotties: for the freshman, James McConnell and Reed Halterman; for the sophomores, Brooks Louder; for the juniors, Justin Williams and Stephen Shaw; and for the seniors, Robert Shostak, Chris Newberry, and Adam Tart. The class hotties received a mini top hat (because they had class) and a medal (because they were all winners). The next award was for Mr. Nice Guy, which was voted on by the contestants themselves. This award went to sophomore Brooks Louder. He was awarded a medal, a gift certificate to a candy store “because he is so sweet,” and a fireman’s hat “because who’s nicer than a fireman!”
Then came the moment we’d all been waiting for, and the winner of the 2004 Mr. Trojan contest was…drumroll please…Eric Duncan! Eric fell to his knees in joy, screaming in jubilation. He ran across the stage and even did a belly dive for the audience. Eric was awarded a medal, a gift certificate, and of course, a king’s crown because he was king of the night!. The first annual Mr. Trojan turned out to be a huge success. Congratulations to all of the winners, and especially to Eric Duncan, Lassiter’s first ever Mr. Trojan!