He’s beauty, he’s grace, he’s elegance, and taste. He’s Mr. Spartan! After a seven-year hiatus, the male beauty pageant is back and made its debut last week.
And in the end, senior Frankie Marty took home the crown. And after taking it all in, those who helped bring back Mr. Spartan for the first time in seven years judged the pageant an unqualified success.
“Mr. Spartan could be classified as a first-class beauty pageant—for men. It combines a talent show, a debate section and of course a clothing segment including formal wear and spirit wear,” said senior Andrew Lackey, a participant in the pagent.
The SGA organized a Spirit Week to lead up to the event as well as the Spring Pep Rally at the end of the week. Spirit days included Hat Day, Tie-Dye Day, Superhero vs. Villain Day, Twin Day, and Class Color Day. SGA officers also announced Senior Superlatives winners at the event.
Mr. Spartan was held on Wednesday evening and brought in a large crowd of not only seniors, but underclassmen as well.
Unlike past years, when Mr. Spartan was held during Homecoming Week, the SGA decided to make this year’s contest the anchor of a Spring Spirit Week. And this year’s event was free to anyone who wanted to attend.
“[Mr. Spartan] was a great event. All the contestants worked really hard to not make this a serious event, but rather an entertaining one,” said senior SGA officer Caleb Plott. “Being a Leadership student and officer, we put a lot of work into this and to see a lot of people, both seniors and underclass, come out and enjoy it was very satisfying.”
There were a wide variety of contestants in Mr. Spartan, some who participated because of their friends’ persistent requests and others who went in with a slightly competitive edge.
Some will remember a pep rally two years ago when a short Mr. Spartan skit was part of the festivities. This year, though, the SGA brought back Mr. Spartan as a pageant that featured a talent portion, formalwear and even—in this season of the presidential election—debating.
“It was a really cool time with my fellow senior bros and I wanted to dethrone Brock [Vaughn], by any means necessary,” said senior Tommy Howe, who was a Mr. Spartan finalist.
The event contained a spirit wear section, when the boys came out decked in orange and blue and a talent section. Talents ranged from rapping “Oh the Places you’ll go!” by Dr. Seuss, to baking brownies on stage.
“I wanted to do something different that had never been done before, something really unique,” said Howe, who showcased his cooking talents.
The judges then chose a top five, who strutted in their formal wear then participated in a debate section.
Results were tallied and Marty was crowned Mr. Spartan. Senior Tommy Howe was a close second and senior Jacob Levine came in third. The event was exciting and received lots of positive reactions from students.
“I think [Mr. Spartan] went really well! All of the boys, Leadership students and teachers really put their heart into making the event a success. I think the student body really enjoyed the event and it will definitely be an event people look forward to in years to come. I’m so glad we brought it back this year,” said senior class president Brittany Branch.