The senior boys compete for the coveted title of Mr. TJ.
by Ben Gilliland
On Thursday April 3, 2008 students, staff, and parents packed the Thomas Jefferson High School Auditorium to watch the crowning of Mr. TJ, the school’s annual talent show and Miss America spoof, that showcases the senior boys.
This year there were 21 senior boys in the running for the title of Mr. TJ: Ryan Allen, Nelson Barry, Adam Colean, Devon Fitzgerald, Cooper Hearne, Kelvin Henry, Marc Houghton, Kian Jost, Joe Langlee, Jonathan Lobato, Matthew Mankoff, Michael Mankoff, Brett Nathan, Darian Savage, D.J. Short, Dylan Smith, Ian Squier, Justin Tara, Tyler Thornton, Brian Walsh, and Krubiel Workie. The emcees for the night were Erin Anderson, Julia Harrington, and Amanda Weaver.
The show started off with the boys doing their choreographed Macho Man dance, which they have spent the past several weeks learning and rehearsing. Things moved right along into the swimsuit competition where the boys showed off their favorite swimwear. Next, there was a fashion show where several of the senior girls modeled dresses for prom, and then came the formal wear competition where their escorts led the boys onto the stage. The boys then came up with clever ways to give their escorts a rose, and they answered two questions. Between events there were also several performances that entertained the crowd while the judges were tallying their scores, which included the TJ dance team, the Nick Kaufhold band, and a performance by Ky Snow, the winner of TJ Idol. After all of the events, the judges combined the scores from the swimsuit competition, rose presentation, and questions to come up with the final five contestants: Barry, Hearne, Houghton, Jost, and Walsh.
After a 15-minute intermission the five finalists performed their talents, which ranged from singing to dancing. After that the contestants changed back into their formal wear for their final questions. The judges combined the contestants’ scores from their talent and how well they answered their final questions, and ranked the contestants from 5th to 1st place. 5th place went to Barry, 4th place went to Jost, 3rd place went to Walsh, 2nd place went to Hearne, 1st place and the title of Mr. TJ went to Houghton. Other awards were also given to Lobato and Colean. Lobato won Mr. Talent and Colean won Mr. Congeniality.
Mr. TJ marks the beginning of the senior traditional events leading up to graduation. Next up is Prom on April 26.
