Event Recap
Lauren Bender
Bernards second annual Mr. BHS took place Friday, April 10th in the Performing Arts Center. The money from admission and refreshments will be going to Sophia Das’ More Than Me Foundation and towards the senior class.
The contestants were Seniors Connor McShane, Troy Lavecchia, Farrell Tamke, Tristan Decker, Jett Singh, Elias Charchar, Dominick DeStefano, Leo Rivera, Hunter Kane, and Darian Myles. Judging the contestants were faculty members including Ms.Malzone, Ms. Dolson, Ms. Hegedus, Ms. Viollio, Ms.McMahon, and Ms.O’Brien. The judges used a detailed rubric to judge to contestants accordingly.
Hunter flexing his muscles in his swim attire.
The night began with Tyler Baum introducing the participants and their escorts as they walked down the stage giving first impressions. Next up, was the talent category which ranged from homemade songs and dancing to magic tricks. One of the most memorable moments according to Colin O’Reilly was Troy dancing to the Napoleon Dynamite, “It was unexpected and out of the ordinary.” Other memorable acts included Elias Charchar amazing the crowd with his “middle eastern twist” drumming and Dominick DeStefano singing “Piano Man” by Elton John. The next category was swimwear where the contestants showed off their swim attire and some even showed off abilities such as pushups.
The last category of the night was interviews where contestants would have to think off their feet. Questions ranged from “If you had one wish what would it be?” and “What has your talent taught you?”. Troy Lavecchia was asked “If you could tell yourself one thing freshman year what would it be?” and he responded “I would tell myself to cut my hair because it was really, really long.”
After all the categories were over, the judges calculated their scores to come up with Mr. BHS. Ms. McMahon said “They all were amazing, and the scores were definitely close.” The contestants lined up on the stage as Tyler Baum was handed the envelope. Elias Charchar’s talent and interview categories stole the show and he was named Mr. BHS. The grand prize consisted of a sash and crown, along with two free prom bids, and of course the honor of being named Mr. BHS.
Dominick Destefano riding in on a skateboard with snorkles.
Meet the Contestants
Ryan Bali
The upcoming annual Mr. BHS pageant will be on April 10th at 7 pm in the PAC. The tickets are $5 presale and $7 at the door. All the funds raised will go to the Class of 2015 and the Sounds for Souls team, a charitable organization for girls in Liberia founded by Sophia Das. Students should see Mrs. Snyder for tickets if they are interested, or they can wait until they are sold during lunches on April 6th through 10th. The panel of teacher judges will use a very detailed rubric to assess the winner.
The grand prize, aside from pride and a sash, will get two free prom bids for him and his date, an over $200 value. The hosts of the event are James “Fitz” Fitzsimmons and Marshall Hespe. The competition will include formalwear, talent, swimwear, and an interview and whichever contestant scores the highest in total on the rubric from all four aspects will win. It will be very interesting to see what trick each contestant will “pull out of the bag” to claim the title of Mr. BHS. There are 11 participants: Conor McShane, Troy LaVecchia, Farrell Tamke,Tristan Decker, Elias Charchar, Jett Singh, Leo Rivera, Dom DeStefano, Hunter Kane, Dorian Hampton and Matt Taylor.
One contestant, Jett Singh, expressed his opinion on the contest, and gave some background on why he joined the contest in the first place. He said he joined to “benefit a worthy foundation, More Than Me, led by friends Sophia Das, and for the opportunity to win 2 free prom bids. Also for the opportunity to provide music for the good people.” He also explained why he thinks he is worthy enough to be Mr. BHS, saying “I am a kind, considerate, trustworthy individual. I believe those aspects of my personality as well as my skills on guitar and my singing abilities will shine through and render me the finest contestant in the Mr. BHS contest.” He also thinks his odds are good compared to his fellow competitors, as he said “I think I stack up nicely against them. I heard Troy is taking dance lessons, so I’m going to have to take my talent portion to the next level to bring it home for the homeboys and the school.” He believes he has what it takes to secure the grand prize, and the honor of being Mr. BHS.
Two other contestants, Elias Charchar and Troy Lavecchia, both also said that they did Mr. BHS because “it sounded like a great time and a lot of fun, and it also benefits the Sounds for Souls foundation.” Elias also said that he knows very little about his competitors, and that he needs to prepare, as he says “I think confidence is my worst enemy. I’d rather be working hard than thinking great things about myself. “ Troy is very optimistic about the competition, as he says “The other contestants are all my good friends, and I can’t wait to see them preform. I guess my talent will win me the competition. Hopefully everyone will think it’s funny.
Dom DeStefano explains that he volunteered to be a contestant because he loves BHS and he thinks he represents it very well. Dom is very confident that he is going to win the competition, as he says “Definitely my talent is serious, but I think everyone knows that I’m pretty funny. It’s kind of got a good mix, I guess. Everyone else is going to need a lot of luck to beat me.” Farrell Tamke has been waiting for this competition because he heard it was a lot of fun last year, even though he didn’t actually see the competition last year. He refers to his competitors positively, saying “They’re a lot of my good friends. I think it’ll be a really fun time to joke around with them and see what they’re going to do for all the events.” He also thinks he has a good chance at winning as he thinks his talent is very good. He explains that he’s just doing a song that he wrote on guitar, and he says “ I’m basically going to dominate the swimsuit competition.”
The other contestants will also try their best to win the competition, as they will have to come up with some stunning performances to best their rivals. There are many great people competing, but only one will be given the title of Mr. BHS.
