On Feb. 23, 2012, eight boys battled for the title of Mr. West, but only one walked away crowned as the king. Senior Mark Lee was crowned as the judge’s official choice and senior Nathan Abernathy won the title of people’s choice from the audience’s vote.
“I never really thought about my chances of winning,” senior Mark Lee said. “I was more concerned with having fun.”
For Nathan Abernathy, winning the title of “people’s choice winner” was just as exciting as winning judge’s choice winner would have been.
“I was incredibly excited,” senior Nathan Abernathy said. “I did not expect to win [people’s choice] with such a talented and great group of guys that I was competing against.”
The remaining six guys were happy for the winners, kept a content attitude and enjoyed their night.
“I was not upset at all,” senior Jonathon Huynh said. “As long as the crowd, the performers and organizers were having fun, that is what matters to me. Much love to Mark Lee for taking the crown.”
Performing in front of an audience that size, takes an insurmountable amount of courage.
“Of course I was nervous,” Huynh said. “It is always nerve-wracking beforehand, but the minute that you see the crowd, it’s go big or go home.”
But with good preparations, the boys pulled off their performances. For the talent portion Jonathon Huynh danced to James Brown, Matt Bird rapped and Nathan Abernathy did the Beach Ball Ballet. However, all the boys agree that their performances were no match for winner Mark Lee’s.
“With Mark Lee’s impressive talent, there was no hope,” senior Matthew Bird said.
Even though the boys were all competing for the title of Mr. West, they remained humble and classy in their behavior towards each other.
“I thought every single contestant had solid acts and we were all pretty evenly matched,” Abernathy said.
The rest of the boys also believe that they had equal chances of winning the crown.
“I had an even shot with the other guys, because we are all equal in different things,” Huynh said. “I did not expect to win, but I just wanted to entertain. It was a blast.”
All the boys were supported by their friends and families who came out to watch the best of the Wolf pack compete for the title of Mr. West.
“Pretty much my entire family came to see me embarrass myself, but it was good that I had their support,” Abernathy said. “The whole experience was a blast. The night of [Mr. West] went by so quickly.”
Both winners agree that the night of Mr. West was one that they will never forget.
“I definitely had a blast,” Lee said. “The other guys were all really friendly and hysterical. We had a great time making fools of ourselves and shaking our booties up on stage.”
