Mr. Viking: Bachelor Addition
The annual high school event, Mr. Viking was a success last Thursday, March 21st in Gym A. It was a spectacular night, with the plain-looking gym being transformed into a “The Bachelor” themed wonderland and hosted by the one-and-only, Greg Haugen. The event featured 15 contestants, who were judged by school staff such as Mrs. Bishop, Coach Skinner, and Ms. El Sharif.
Each guy was introduced by the host and featured in a comedic video to start off the night. The crowd got excited when it was time for the highly-anticipated group dance to Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next”, which starred all of the contestants and ended with the iconic red roses being gracefully thrown out into the audience. The night wouldn’t have been complete without a performance of singer Deniece Williams’ “Lets Hear It For The Boy” sung by Lily Rand, accompanied by the girls of Student Council.
The night preceded with a series of small-group dances. The first group, “The Bad Boys of Lamar” featured Cane F, Graham H, Hunter H, Mathew B, and Tristan N. The second group featured Danny B, Ryan L, Joey V, Aiden H, and Matthew L and the third and final small-group featured Patrick M, Jacob C, Diego A, Yadi P, and Andrew G.
“It took about 3 weeks to prepare and learn everything,” Cane F. said about the group choreography. “It was definitely worth the work to make the night entertaining.”
The most hysterical portion of the night was when it came time for the “bachelors'” talents. The guys performed everything from songs, uncomfortable noises and sports to crossdressing, art and eating.
Many of the guys said that they simply performed things that involved what they were good at, like eating or dressing up.
Towards the end of the night, the time came for the host to ask the cliche, but hysterical pageant questions. As each “bachelor” strutted across the stage with their escorts, they gave their wittiest answers to the host’s questions. There was even a rose ceremony, inspired by “The Bachelor”, where each guy went out into the audience and gave a rose to a special someone.
Every guy also chose a charity to give his donations from the audience to.
“There are so many people that go hungry not just in the US, but in the entire world. I think everyone should at least have a meal every day.” Patrick M. said when asked why he chose Feeding America as his charity.
After doing everything they could do to impress the judges, the time to receive awards finally came. The first award of the night, “Best Dressed,” as well as the second runner-up Mr. Viking award went to the prim and properly dressed Patrick M. The second award, “Best Talent” and the first runner-up Mr. Viking award went to Graham H, after performing a skit of his experience in high school.
The “Mr. Heartthrob” award, which was for the guy who received the most donations for their charity of choice, was awarded to Matthew L.
In the few moments- that felt like an eternity- leading up to the announcement of Mr. Viking 2019, the crowd was completely silent. Suddenly, a drumroll sounded.
“Your 2019 Mr. Viking is… Ryan Long!” said the host.
There was a roar of glee from the audience as the winner was handed his crown and sash.
“I did get first runner-up last year, but I didn’t think it would be a very easy thing to win, so I went in expecting to just have a really good time,” Long said.
Long chose to give his donations to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Although the event was held in the gym instead of the auditorium, as usual, everyone can agree that it was quite a special night. Congratulations to all of the contestants of Mr. Viking 2019, and thank you for giving back to the community.
