On Thursday night, a lively crowd attended the first annual Mr. West Chester University competition at Emilie K. Asplundh Hall to see 16 guys battle it out to win the title.With 16 smart and talented contestants, Diem from MTV’s “Fresh Meat” and “The Gauntlet III” hosted the event. It may have been the first annual and, with the huge turn out, it will not be the last Mr. WCU.
The competition started off with an entertaining dance performance by all of the contestants. The men came out in purple and gold T-shirts and did a dance routine to the Beach Boys song “Be True to Your School.”
After their routine, each contestant was introduced. Along with each introduction came an interesting fact about each contestant. While introducing themselves, each guy explained to the crowd exactly how much WCU spirit they had.
With just three weeks for dance practices and trips to the mall, the guys successfully showed off their moves and personal style to the crowd.
Before the competition began, Diem and other students threw out T-shirts from the Student Activity Council. SAC not only supplied the T-shirts for those who caught one, they also sponsored the event.
The first event for the contestants was casual wear. Each guy modeled in an outfit that they would wear any day of the week. No contestant was better than the other; they simply wore clothing that described their own individual personality.
Casual wear was only the first of many entertaining portions of the competition. It was not until the talent portion where the contestants showed their talent in order to make the crowd go wild.
The talent portion included any appropriate talent that could be performed on stage. The men of WCU sang, played instruments such as the guitar and piano, danced, juggled, some did back flips and one guy, Matt Ziegler, was brave enough to juggle while bouncing on a pogo stick.
Chris Dickerson won over the women in the crowd by playing a medley on the piano. He began with a number from Beethoven, and then eased into a Disney medley including songs from “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin.” Once he began playing, it was seconds before he had the crowd singing along with his piano.
After the impressive talent portion, each guy was introduced in his formal wear with an escort on his arm. The guys dressed to impress, with outfits better than their Sunday best. Along with their formal wear came the question and answer portion in which each guy answered each question in their own personal way.
After the formal wear portion the top three guys were announced to the crowd after a short intermission for the five judges to tally up their votes. In no particular order, Matt Ziegler, Chris Dickerson and Darren Lipscomb were announced to the audience as the judges’ top three contestants.
The 13 other contestants left the stage, and it was time for another question and answer portion for the three remaining gentlemen. Unfortunately, for this portion, the contestants were not given the questions in advance. Once again, the judges tallied up their votes and left the crowd on the edge of their seats while waiting to find out who would be crowned the first Mr. WCU.
Time stood still for the next few minutes until the judges were ready to announce the winner. Each contestant did an excellent job, but one in particular stood out to the crowd and the judges.
Before announcing the winner, Diem handed out the non-finalist awards, which were voted on by the SAC executive board and the contestants. After each award was announced, the SAC Bee put a medal around the winners neck.
Giancarlo Brugnolo won the “Mr. WCU Spirit” award. Brugnolo sang into the hearts of the audience with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
The “Ladies Choice” award went to Wyatt Jackson. Jackson is a first-year student who wowed the crowd, and Diem, with his singing and guitar-playing talent.
“Most Likely to Move onto Mr. Pennsylvania” went to second-year student, music education, Sean McElwee.
Finally, the “Mr. Congeniality” award went, to no surprise from the crowd, to Nate Haberle. He made the audience laugh with his stand-up comedy act and his impersonation of Kermit the Frog.
With his talent to successfully hold a sing-a-long in a crowded room, to his classic formal wear and charming answers, Chris Dickerson was crowned as the first Mr. WCU. As a senior here at WCU and also a music education student, Dickerson is proud to call himself Mr. WCU.
It was not hard to see that the first annual Mr. WCU was a hands-down success. There will be plenty more competitions to come for the Mr. WCU title. Ladies, start getting in line now because you will not want to miss it; it will only get better!
Lindsay Fischer is a fourth-year student majoring in professional studies with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at LF597031@wcupa.edu.