Billy Srague, the winner of Mr. TJ and his lovely escort Jamie Gray. Photo courtesty of Billy Sprague
Billy Sprague claims his rightful title as he takes top honors in annual Mr. TJ pageant.
Mr. TJ is a Thomas Jefferson High School tradition that took place on Friday April 9th, when twenty-one of TJ’s classiest senior boys suited up, performed their special talents, gave roses to their lovely escorts, and were judged by a panel of students and teachers. Billy Sprague stole the show and came out on top, being named the 2010 Mr. TJ.
This year’s contestants were Demetrius Allen, Matthew Averyhart, Chase Bostic, Andrew Brown, Scott Bruskin, Kyle Caruthers, Deontae Fair, Zachary Jackson, Hayden Lammermann, Jared Lewis, Benjamin Makovsky, Thomas Moehlman, Mitchell Montgomery, Shane Oliver, Nasheed Robison, David Sanchez, Billy Sprague, Peter Taylor, Brandon Truesdale, Dante Velez, and Keith Warren.
The contestants started practicing in March for their big show and their hard work was immediately apparent to the crowd on Friday night. All 21 boys looked their best in the Al’s Formal Wear tuxedos and crazy outfits for the talent and swimsuit parts of the show. The swimsuit portion of the show is one of the crowd favorites, and they went wild when the boys came out on stage dressed for a day at the beach, in this classic Miss America spoof.
Sprague had a clever swimsuit and the crowd showed him much support. He dressed in a cloud of stuffing and fairy wings. “Jared Lewis said it would be cool to come out on a cloud. So I went to Michael’s and got stuffing and used my sister’s fairy wings from several Halloweens ago,” said Sprague.
The talent portion of the show is when the top five finalists battle it out to see who is the winner. The top five finalists for this year were Bruskin, Caruthers, Makovsky, Sprague, and Warren. Bruskin remixed and sang You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift and dressed in cowboy boots and a skirt. Caruthers sang Tired of Being Alone by Al Green and dressed in short shorts and gangster sunglasses. Makovsky went against the grain and started singing Tik Tok by Ke$ha, but stopped in the opening and flipped over five people in an amazing show of strength and agility. Sprague wowed the crowd by first coming out in tights and tutu, and singing Candy Girl by New Addition. Then, the lights went off and he came out dressed in glow sticks and danced to a medley of rap songs. Warren showed the crowd how to Jazzercize and get physical while dressed in bright neon workout gear.
Mr.Talent was won by David Sanchez for his unique and celestial take on the Beastie Boys song, Intergalactic. He had Nick Becker and Hayden Johnson as background dancers dressed as a robot and a monster. Sanchez was dressed in a Hazmat suit and executed the Beastie Boys’ music video perfectly. The judges were highly impressed and gave great scores for his performance which earned him the title of Mr. Talent 2010. “It was disappointing that I didn’t win Mr. TJ, but winning Mr. Talent made my night a lot better,” mused Sanchez.
Mr. Congeniality is an award given to the most friendly and approachable contestant, and is voted on by the boys. This award was given to the shy but gentlemanly Averyhart. “Matt is just very nice and has a calming presence. He helped to make my nerves disappear the night of the show,” said Emily Cordes, who was one of the escorts around him.
The success of the show is greatly due to a returning parent, Kathy Wells, whose three daughters have long since graduated from TJ. She and her two assistants, current TJ Parents Robyn Houghton and Sheila Skubal, worked tirelessly to put the show together. You can read more about Wells here.
Mr. TJ 2010 was a great success and it exceeded expectations; it was pleasing for audiences young and old, male and female. Sprague stole the show with his amazing talent and charming wit. “I didn’t expect to win Mr. TJ, I just went out there and had fun; but winning was a nice bonus,” said Sprague.
