This year’s Mr. Urbana competition was held on Thursday, December 4^th. According to Mr. Urbana contestant Steven Mikk, “Mr. Urbana is a friendly competition between twelve guys in the school [who] show great character… in the classroom and [who] are generally easy-going guys that are just easy to get along with and that can have fun together.”

As most people know, the twelve contestants for Mr. Urbana must raise as much money as possible for the Rock Creek School. According to Mr. Urbana contestant Connor Wills, “the Rock Creek School is a school in the county for kids with special needs that would not fit in at a normal school environment, so they cannot speak or they cannot walk…, so there is a special school for them.” This year, the contestants raised $7,849.23 for the disabled students at the Rock Creek School.

In case you are wondering about the candidates of Mr. Urbana, here is what you need to know:

Mr. January: Joey Mejia, this year’s second runner-up, describes himself as “suave and chill.” Mejia said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate for Mr. Urbana, he was pretty happy; he had no clue that he was even nominated at all but it was nice because his brother was nominated two years ago so he is living the legacy.

Mr. February: Andy Moss describes himself as being “outgoing, vibrant, fun, and determined.” Moss said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he was surprised.

Mr. March: Greg Kuver said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he was pretty excited that he would get to bring the beard on center-stage. When Kuver was asked to describe himself, he said “I have a beard, and I have a beard, and I have a beard… #FeedtheBeard.”

Mr. April: Steven Mikk said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he was excited because he has always looked up to the candidates as a freshman and sophomore and even last year as a junior, so he was shocked and excited to be a candidate. Mikk said “I am Big Hoss; I am laid back and hairy.”

Mr. May: Jacob Mittereder, this year’s Mr. Urbana runner-up, describes himself as “charming, [having] a winning personality with kind of a dad body, borderline pudgy, but still slim, great teeth, easy on the eyes, and God-like athleticism.”

Mr. June: Emmanuel Apea said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he had to adjust his schedule. He was in football at the time and he was a little concerned that the competition would be rather time consuming, leaving him with less study time, but the experience has been pretty flexible and enjoyable. Apea said, “Have you ever hear the phrase long, tan, and handsome? That’s me.”

Mr. July: Brian Dailey describes himself as being “a more awesome guy than Zach Cummings and a better Pokémon master than both Zach Cummings and JP Kim.” Dailey said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he was excited because his brother, Mike Dailey, was in Mr. Urbana his senior year in 2010, so Dailey was able to learn what to expect from his older brother.

Mr. August: Zach Cummings said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he was happy at first, but then he got nervous because he did not know what his talent was going to be, who else was going to be competing, or how hard the competition was going to be. Cummings said he is “charming, funny, a better Pokémon master than JP.”

Mr. September: Cody Wilcox said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he was really excited at first but then he started learning more about the competition. He was nervous when he learned that it was a lot of work, but he was still excited to competing alongside his friends. Wilcox said that “I’m a five foot nothing rubrik’s cube that has a bunch of other stuff that people will get to find out.”

Mr. October: Connor Wills said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, he was excited because he had always wanted to be in Mr. Urbana since freshmen year, so it was like a dream come true and he knew that he could really make difference by raising money to help the kids out. Wills thinks that he would be a good face of Urbana and describes himself as being “a fun-loving guy.”

Mr. November: Win McKeever, winner of this year’s Mr. Urbana pageant, said that he describes himself as a person who enjoys messing around and trying to have fun. McKeever said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate for Mr. Urbana, he was happy and excited. “It was nice to know that I was nominated by my peers and teachers for Mr. Urbana,” said McKeever.

“I think it would be an honor to be Mr. Urbana, knowing that you get to represent your school as Mr. Urbana and represent all the boys. I mean, it would be an honor to hold that title… If I won Mr. Urbana, I would be humble and … happy that everybody supported me along the way and made it happen for me,” said McKeever.

Mr. December: JP Kim said that when he first learned that he would be a candidate, his thoughts were: “Awesome! It’s pretty cool; I was like that’s awesome.” Kim describes himself as “a Pokémon master who strives to be the very best. Mr. Urbana is a competition in which he can be the very best in and he desires for everyone seeing the show to have a great time like he did throughout the entire process.”

The week of the competition, each of the twelve contestants is given the task of appearing in a different costume for three consecutive days of appearing in costume. This year, they showed up as inanimate objects on day one, movie characters on day two, and finally in school spirit wear the day of the show.

Many interesting costumes were worn for the spirit week portion. On inanimate object day, there was a bush, a Rubik’s cube, a Ken doll, a box of Cracker Jacks, and many others. Movie character day prompted renditions of Harry Potter, Austin Powers, Samuel L. Jackson, Olaf, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Leonidas.

All of these factors are reviewed by a panel of judges made up of teachers, staff members, and alumni who have been in the past competitions.

However, the main focus point of this entire event is the contest itself. After all of the money is raised, tickets are sold for the finale: the Mr. Urbana Competition. Each boy is judged on his seasonal wear for the month he represents, his performance in the talent portion, and finally the speech given by his escort while he shows off his formal wear.

For seasonal wear, many contestants chose to honor a more obscure holiday that lies in their month, such as Pancake Day, Give Animals a Break Day, and Dog Day. Another major display of creativity comes with the talent portion. From synchronized swimming to roller skating, skits to violin performances, and lots of dancing, the contestants showed their fearless senses of humor for the second category of the night.