The Return of Mr. Spartan
The 2014 Mr. Spartan contestants lined the stage.
On March 15th, nine of Southern Lehigh’s most talented male upperclassmen competed in the second annual Mr. Spartan pageant. The pageant is run by Varsity Club, which is led by social studies teacher Mr. Lee Zeisloft. The first Mr. Spartan was held two years ago, but failed to run last year due to scheduling conflicts.
“Getting all nine guys to work on the routine in practice was the most difficult part of running Mr. Spartan,” Mr. Zeisloft said.
Seniors Chase Asman and Collin Johnston as well as juniors Michael Figler, Mark Haverhill, Brycen Holland, Skyler Gilda, Cody Heffelfinger, Jason Renner, and Austin Piel were the contestants of this year’s pageant.
The contestants were judged by their dance routine, swimwear, formal wear, and talent. The faculty judges included Spanish teacher Ms. Jessica Swartz, French teacher Mrs. Kaytlyn Byers, and physical education teacher Ms. Megan Dellegrotti.
Mr. Spartan opened with contestants running through the aisles of the auditorium and jumping on stage. They then transitioned into a synchronized group dance to various songs including “I’m the Man” by Aloe Blacc and “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
“I was extremely surprised to be in the top three finalists since I butchered the end of the first dance,” finalist Mark Haverhill said.
After providing the audience and judges with laughs and entertainment, next up was beach wear. Each contestant dressed in school appropriate beach/swim attire and walked down the stage runway-style. While the boys strutted the catwalk, host and social studies teacher Mr. Matthew Cooper read fun facts about them.
Next came the nerve-wracking talent portion. Talents came in a wide variety of singing, dancing, and even some slam poetry. Austin Piel, Jason Renner, and Brycen Holland all sang for their talent portion. Collin Johnston, on the other hand, provided comedic relief when he lip synced to Backstreet Boys “I Want It That Way.”
Cody Heffelfinger and Chase Asman both danced, but not nearly in the same way. Heffelfinger danced in the style of hip hop to Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body,” while Asman performed the same ribbon dance that Will Ferrell did in the movie “Old School.”
Introduced by Richard Frable, Michael Figler displayed his guitar abilities by shredding the song “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic.
“My favorite part about Mr. Spartan was the reward of playing the guitar in front of my peers,” Figler said.
Mark Haverhill took a different approach. He came out on the stage with an easel and paint supplies and appeared to be painting flowers. When he finished “painting,” he opened up the canvas to reveal a surprise: “Octavia, PROM?” Fortunately, she said yes.
“I was extremely nervous throughout my talent portion,” Haverhill said, “but I’m very happy my promposal went smoothly.”
Skyler Gilda’s talent included an array of acts from challenging Mr. Zeisloft to a round of table tennis, pretending to know how to play the guitar, and reciting a poem.
Once the talent came to a close, formal wear came next. The boys proved to the judges that they can clean up nicely.
After a closing dance to the famous song, “You’re the One that I Want,” from the musical “Grease,” featuring members of our very own Southern Lehigh Dance Team, the results were in.
The three finalists were Mark Haverhill, Jason Renner, and Brycen Holland. After each remaining contestant was asked one final question, Brycen Holland took the crown.
“It was an honor to win Mr. Spartan. My fellow competitors were great, they worked hard, and they made practices and rehearsals enjoyable,” he said.
As the winner of Mr. Spartan, Holland took home two free tickets to this year’s prom. Win or lose, the event was a true success and a whole lot of fun for the audience and contestants.
“I wasn’t expecting much from myself, but Gabi Uribe made our ‘Grease’ dance look good, and I just tried to have fun with a Frank Sinatra tune,” Holland said. “I really appreciate the opportunity, and I’m thankful for all who contributed to making the show happen. I especially want to thank Señorita [Swartz], the dance team for teaching us, and Mr. Zeisloft for organizing everything.”
With the hit return of Mr. Spartan after the cancellation of last year’s contest, students and teachers are excited to see what lies ahead for the pageant.
“I’ll be looking forward to the event next year to see what the upcoming juniors have to offer,” Mr. Zeisloft said.
Few on the Spotlight staff has been both a reporter and editor for all four years of their high school career-- this all changed when Dana DiGiovanni entered...