Mr. Husky 2019 – Brian Hill

Last Friday, December 13th, marked the thirteenth annual Mr. Husky competition where senior Mr. February, Brian Hill, won the title and stole the show.  The competition, a spoof on Miss America, paired twelve Hughson High School males against one another to vie for the title and the crown of Mr. Husky. 

 

The night was composed of four different categories that the males competed in to earn points towards their overall score. The highest-scoring male would win the show and the coveted title.  

 

The first competition category was formal wear. Each male was outfitted in a tuxedo, generously donated by Rossini’s Formal Wear in Modesto. The candidates were then escorted on stage by a relative such as a mom or sister as a biography of their life was read by Master of Ceremony, Charles Eastham.   

 

“I love the formal wear portion of the show,” stated event coordinator Karalee Ruelas. “They always look so elegant and charming, and it is fun to see a side of them that I normally don’t see in class.”

 

The next portion of the show this year was the presentation of the candidates’ holiday months. 

 

“Each boy was assigned a month such as Mr. January, Mr. February and so on and given a holiday to represent their month,” explained Ruelas. “The boys are responsible for creating their holiday costume and for creating a short skit to accompany their holiday.” 

 

For many of the contestants, this portion of the night represents a lighthearted moment where the boys can just enjoy being silly and enjoy each other’s company. 

 

“My favorite part of the night was being with all of the guys and having a good time – all of us supporting each other, laughing at each other’s acts,” explained winner Mr. February, Brian Hill. 

 

The main highlight of the evening was the talent portion where each of the contestants displayed a talent that was unique to them. The talents ranged from comedic, to singing, to magic shows all in hopes of impressing the judges. 

 

Mr. August, Joseph Powers and first runner-up, whose talent was hip-hop dancing, said, “My favorite part of Mr. Husky was going up on stage, smiling, and being just myself – the goofy person that I am in front of everybody and hearing the applause.”

 

Mr. June, Logan Applegate, whose talent was dressing like Bob Ross and creating an original painting which was later auctioned off to the crowd, said that his favorite part of the show was the talent portion. “Definitely the talent portion was my favorite part of the night. It was hilarious.” When asked the portion of the evening that made Applegate the most nervous, he laughed and replied, “Also the talent portion, because I was the only person on stage and I actually had to do something.” 

 

The final portion of the competition was a trivia round where each of the contestants was asked three questions they selected from five varying categories. 

 

Mr. October, Christian Aguiar, said, “The trivia questions were a little skewed, they were all different.  I think something about the trivia was tough. Some were easy, some were hard, and also, like, also once you’re up there, you definitely get nervous.” 

 

At the end of the show, the twelve contestants performed one last act as a group, dancing in the dark with glow sticks made out to look like glowing men to the song Thriller.  During this portion of the show, the judges tallied the scores and the winners were announced. 

 

Mr. Congeniality went to Mr. December, David Brussow.  Mr. Photogenic went to Mr. April, Jay Olsen. 2nd runner up went to Mr. May, Seth Boice. 1st runner up went to Mr. August, Joseph Powers, and the crown and title of 2019 Mr. Husky went to Mr. February, Brian Hill. 

 

“That night, Brian truly captured what we look for in a Mr. Husky,” explained Ruelas.  “He was so sharp and regal looking in his tuxedo, his holiday costume and dance captured the fun and light-hearted nature of the evening, his talent of singing his Disney Medley was so well performed and spot-on, and he answered all of his trivia questions correctly. It was a unanimous and easy decision by the judges to select Brian as the 2019 Mr. Husky Winner.” 

 

When asked about how Hill felt about the evening, he explained, “I honestly felt that we all deserved to win because we were all good at different parts of it. So, like in a way, it was disheartening, but also like yay!”