The Mr. TJ contestants wowed the crowd with their talent and their class. photo courtesy of Susie Sundeen
On Friday, April 15th, TJ hosted its annual Mr. TJ show in which nine impressive contestants displayed their talents.
A fun spring tradition continued with the annual crowning of Mr TJ. This year’s contestants were seniors Henry Allen, Jack Willson, Franz Torres, Alec Stolz, Ben Salinger, Nick Allie, Jonny Sundeen, Chris Scarborough, and Chris Loffelmacher, who were accompanied by their senior escorts, Gabby Harrison, Jurnee Farrell, Sasha Mesropov, Brooklyn York, Anja Oss, Talia Black, Becca Gubrud, Jordyn Chappell, and Michelle Brown. Sundeen won the hearts of the crowd and the judges, through three challenging events and earning the title “Mr. TJ.”
TJ’s senior stars entered the stage dancing to the song Raining Men, exciting the audience for the evening’s show. Following the introduction the boys moved into the “Spartan wear.” part of the show, where the contestants and escorts showed off their best gear as the audience learned more about them. Next for the talent part of the show, contestants performed unique talents from playing the piano and singing to stand up comedy, and even jazzercise; overall, the talent portion gave the judges plenty to think about.
Next up on the list of events was the much anticipated rose ceremony, in which participants presented their escorts a rose in a creative way and answered a personal question for the crowd and judges. The boys received the opportunity to show and highlight the escort’s personality, by getting them to say yes to the rose. Harrison stated, “The rose ceremony was a lot of fun, everyone was creative and had great ideas.”
This year, Mr. Talent went to the one and only Ben Salinger and Mr. Congeniality was awarded to both Alec Stolz and Franz Torres. “Judging was really hard, there were so many great contestants and so many spectacular performances that it was hard to choose just one for each title” judge Jordan Graham stated. Sundeen stole the show and was crowned Mr. TJ. “Of course it felt great to win knowing that I pleased the judges and the crowd, but the real joy came from all the moments with my fellow competitors,” Sundeen explained.
Mr. TJ could not have been put on without the continued work and dedication of Sara Andolsek, Spartan parents Susan Sundeen, Kelly Scarborugh, Janet Willson, Lisa Allen and Terry Farrell, and from all the contributing parents and faculty members who worked hard to make it a fun night for all who attended. After this year’s successful show, TJ can’t wait to see what the class of 2017 will come up with, and which Spartan will be crowned Mr. TJ.
