Freshmen reign in pageant

Katelyn Wyszysnki / staff photographer Matt MacDougall does a little number for the audience.

Grafton-Stovall Theatre was packed with more than 200 students Monday night for the Mr. Freshman competition.

The pageant pitted nine freshmen against each other in a for-fun knockoff of the Miss America pageant. Contestants competed in four categories — swimwear, talent, formalwear and a question-and-answer section — for the title of Mr. Freshman.

Sponsored by the Freshman Class Council, the event raised money for Take Back the Night, according to freshman class president Ryan Powell, who served as emcee.

Nine freshmen competed in the pageant: Kenta Ferrin of Chesapeake Hall, Reid Gadziala of Gifford Hall, Reid Ganther of Garber Hall, Forrest Hinton of Eagle Hall, Matthew MacDougall of Hillside Hall, Johnny Reck of Spruce Hall, Aaron Stewart of Potomac Hall, John White of Gifford Hall and Kyle Wise of Garber Hall.

Reck was crowned Mr. Freshman, Ferrin was named first runner up and Gadziala won the title of second runner-up.

Seniors Brian Nido and Jared Schwartz and junior Alka Francheski formed the panel of judges for the competition.

After a group dance routine that started the pageant, contestants moved to the swimwear segment. Highlights included White’s Corona Extra bikini and Reck asking Powell to oil his back.

The talent portion of the competition followed and included an interpretive ribbon dance by Ferrin and Wise’s rendition of Tenacious D’s “Gently.”

Scores were tabulated immediately following the formalwear section and the question-and-answer period.

“Everyone did a great job,” said Reck, who admitted that his performance of “Part of Their World” from the motion picture “The Little Mermaid” was his strongest section.

“All the guys were really funny, down-to-earth people,” he added.

The contestants practiced once a week for more than a month for dance routines and staging, Reck said.

White, who did not place, said, “It was a dynamic experience. Everyone was cool, so we had a great time at practices.”

The Mr. Freshman pageant raised over $700 for Take Back the Night, Powell said. Take Back the Night, which is sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, “continues the effort to end violence against women,” according to an informational flyer released by the WRC.

For more information on Take Back the Night and other related events, visit the WRC’s Web site at www.jmu.edu/womensresource.