Students flocked to Burt Kahn court on Saturday April 28 to see who would be crowned Quinnipiac’s next “Mr. QU.”
A large runway acted as the centerpiece for this event, with the three judges, Assistant Director of Student Media Lila Carney, senior and reigning Mr. QU Travis Moran, and junior Student Programming Board President Lauren Enea sitting at the head.
Once all attendees grabbed some snacks and took their seats, the evening’s hosts, senior Brad DePrima and junior Alyssa Lungarini, took the stage. This duo kept the night moving with some light comedy, welcoming personalities, and relatable humor.
To kick off the show, each of the seven contestants entered the gymnasium from the main door and made their way to the runway while performing an original spirit dance.
The contestants were:
1) Freshman Charlie Doe
2) Freshman Andrew Nocera
3) Sophomore Theo Siggelakis
4) Sophomore Shawn McClory
5) Sophomore Nick Palumbo
6) Junior Nick Frias
7) Senior Andrew McDermott
The show was broken down into a talent section, the first elimination, a swimwear section including each contestant’s best pickup line, a lip-singing section, the second elimination, and the finals, which consisted of the final two contestants dressing in their formal-wear and answering a question asked by Moran.
Right as the show began, contestant Shawn McClory wowed everyone by performing his spirit dance in a yellow and blue skin-tight body suit that he has worn to all of Quinnipiac’s home basketball games.
As each contestant entered, the audience fan bases were quickly established as groups of students would stand and shout someone’s name. A fan even went as far as bringing a blown-up poster of McDermott’s face to the show.
Once on stage, hosts DePrima and Lungarini joined the contestants in giving their best “bobcat roar.”
The talent portion of the show proved to be a unique collection of skills ranging from two vocal performances, a creative ribbon dance, a gymnastics routine, two comedy acts, and a minimized dunk contest conducted by the extreme basketball fan himself, McDermott.
At the completion of the talent section, the first round of eliminations were underway, and Palumbo and Siggelakis were escorted off the stage to applause and cheers from the crowd. The remaining five went to prepare for swimwear.
As part of the swimwear section, each contestant had to present and act out their smoothest pickup line, usually to one of their female escorts.
McClory proved to be a crowd stunner once again, as he kicked off the section stripping down to only a navy blue speedo and silver swim cap. Frias rocked what seemed to be scuba shorts and swimmies, and both McDermott and Doe utilized their pale skin to lather themselves up in some sunscreen. Nocera also made things a little wild by sporting a cowboy hat on top of his swimsuit.
Diving right out of their swimsuits and into their “boy band attire,” the remaining five contestants gave it their all as they performed a lip-singing rendition of their favorite song.
Throwbacks like “Hey Juliet” and “Bye, Bye, Bye” were featured, as well as some new hits like One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.” Both Frias and Doe dedicated their songs to multiple people in the audience as they climbed through the aisles and hopped on and off stage.
After all the performances, the time for elimination number two had arrived, and three out of the five remaining contestants were eliminated. Coming in fifth place was sophomore McClory. Fourth place was awarded to freshman Nocera, and third place was taken by freshman Doe.
As Frias and McDermott prepared for the finals, hosts DePrima and Lungarini checked each finalist’s status by asking the audience’s opinion. When each name was said though, near identical levels of screams and chants erupted from the audience. It was then time for formalwear and the ever-important pageant question.
Frias was first to come out, and he sported a pink shirt, purple tie, and black blazer and pants as he was escorted down the runway. Moran was awaiting his arrival, and presented him the question of “who is your hero, or heroes, and why?” Dedicating his answer to both his late great aunt and Betty White, Frias’ support system screamed, chanted and exploded as he made his way backstage.
McDermott then greeted the runway sporting a grey blazer and pants, bright red suspenders, a light blue shirt, and his memorable blue and white bow tie. When Moran asked him the same question, McDermott dedicated his answer to his grandfather, and then Quinnipiac’s own Professor Bruce White. The support system for McDermott also proceeded to send a shockwave across Burt Kahn Court, and it was made evident that the competition was close.
Frias returned to stage and accompanied McDermott as they awaited the final verdict.
Shaking hands and thanking their perspective supporters, Frias and McDermott stood side-by-side, and waited as the gymnasium quieted to an eerie silence.
Moran graced the stage with both his crown and his sash, and headed to the man he would be passing his royalties onto.
The winner was Junior Nick Frias.
The gymnasium erupted into a slew of chants and cheers, and Frias stood shocked on stage, also congratulating McDermott on a battle well fought.
As Frias began posing for pictures with his fans, freshman film, video, and interactive media major Danielle Berkowitz commented on the event as a whole:
“I thought it was a great event for students to get involved,” she said. “It allowed the contestants to really show their friends who they were.”