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It is now passed December 7^th and therefore passed Mr. Urbana. This year’s competition was action packed with a great group dance and talents that included salsa dancing, the Get’cha Head In The Game dance from High School Musical, a triangle ensebmle, and even a remake of the famous Chippendales Saturday Night Live skit. Through this fun adventure the 12 senior boys involved were able to raise a total of $8,560. In terms of placing, Anthony Schifano was crowned Mr. Urbana, while Adam Richardson placed second and Ezeki Ganesan came in at third.

Regardless of where they placed all 12 guys had a blast, but Schifano will always have the added bonus of being Mr. Urbana.

Schifano said, “It feels great and I believe [Mr. Urbana] comes with a lot of responsibility. I feel like I’m a representative of our school and all the guys that were up there, which means a lot. The most important part is that we were all able to come together and raise money for the Rock Creek School.”

Throughout the entire competition Schifano stated that he wouldn’t change a thing and that he enjoyed every part of it, but that the practices were the best part.

Schifano said, “The practices were a lot of fun because it really was a very unique group of guys from all different parts of the school and we were all able to come together with a common goal in mind.”

The two main areas that a Mr. Urbana contestant is judged in is how much money they raise and how well they do in the competition. Schifano raised a very respectable amount of money, but he felt that his talent is what gave him the edge to win.

Schifano said, “When I was trying to think of my talent one thing I was looking for was a type of act that all the students would think is funny and enjoy, but also one that the judges and parents would be able to relate too.”

Considering the crowd was roaring with laughter for all six minutes of his act, Schifano more than achieved his goal.

Even though he focused a great deal of energy on perfecting his talent, Schifano stressed that every aspect of the competition is important, and he wants to make sure next year’s contestants know that.

Schifano said, “Every aspect of the competition should be taken with an equal amount of effort. Do everything you can to raise as much money as possible, spend time practicing your talent, and be creative with your costumes. It all goes a long way.”

Nearly earning the title of Mr. Urbana was Richardson, who was able to raise $1,000 flat. Even though he wasn’t able to come in first, Richardson has no regrets from the competition.

Richardson said, “I wouldn’t change anything, I pretty much did everything perfectly. I’m also just happy that we all had a good time, but I’m fine being the prince of Urbana. Long live king Schifano.”

Richardsons favorite part of the competition was the talent portion, which included himself and senior Matt Sullivan rollerblading around on stage. His talent left the crowd in awe and was certainly a vital piece to his placement in the competition. Richardson also credits his placement to his escort, friend Matt Sullivan, and his costumes during spirit week.

Richardson said, “My costumes were pretty good, I had a beautiful escort in Taylor Coffey, and my best buddy Matt Sullivan helped me a lot with my talent.”

Ganesan, who placed third and wowed the crowd with a gutsy triangle performance raised $800. He felt that because he came from a different social group than a lot of the other Mr. Urbana contestants he was able to get money from people the other contestants wouldn’t have asked, which helped him to raise all the money he did. Even though $800 is a respectable amount and 100 percent of it will go to the Rock Creek School, Ganesan was a bit disappointed that he didn’t raise more.

Ganesan said, “I would’ve pushed for more sponsorships to get more money. The biggest part of this is raising money for the Rock Creek School and I feel like the amount of money I raised was a bit inadequate so I could’ve done better there.”

Even though he didn’t win, Ganesan was overjoyed that he placed at all.

Ganesan said, “I was super happy because I wasn’t even expecting a placement. Of course there was a tinge of disappointment from not winning, but I’m just happy I placed.”

Much like Schifano, Ganesan’s loved every part of the competition, but the talents where his favorite. He enjoyed watching others and had fun during his crazy triangle performance, which he came up with when a friend brought up the idea jokingly after he scratched the idea of dancing around to funny music.

Placing at all in Mr. Urbana requires you to be engaged throughout all portions of the competition, which Ganesan was, but he credits a lot of his efforts to family and friends.

Ganesan said, “I want to thank family and friends, and give a special shout out to Nathan Davis for helping me with my calculator costume and my friends that were brave enough to do the triangle act with me on stage.”

Mr. Urbana never fails to disappoint. It fills everyone with laughter and brings light to a great cause. It shows that even a small act can cause ripples. Much like the holidays it brings joy and cheer, and also like the holidays, it is the perfect end to the year.