Gallery • 9 Photos

Caroline Judd

The 2019 Mr. Longhorn participants strike their final pose in their opening dance choreographed by the varsity Poms captains. The dance included snippets from "thank u, next," "Thotiana" and more. "I had so much fun with Mr. Longhorn. I got to dress up, have fun and dance with all my friends on stage," senior Dheemanth Mannem said. "With all the time and effort I put into this, I might not have won, but I sure felt like I came up on top. [It was] definitely my top senior moment of high school."

Senior Will Schuchardt ran onto the stage holding two plates, each with different colors of paint. The crowd roared. Intense music started playing as Schuchardt, dressed as a French painter, began to paint on a blank canvas. The beat dropped. The lights went out, and eventually, when the lights turned on, a detailed painting of Schuchardt with the crown and cape now on the canvas predicted Schuchardt’s pageant victory.  

Mr. Longhorn, a male beauty pageant is where senior men perform a talent and present their occupation. Then, a panel of judges narrow down the competitors to the top five who are asked a series of interview questions, mocking those of a real pageant.

“It’s awesome to be able to participate in such a cool event. To do something that I’ve seen done for the past four years by other seniors, and knowing this had been going on for so long, was really cool,” Schuchardt said. “It’s for sure one of West’s top traditions, where seniors can come together and give the school a great night ”

Schuchardt decided to surprise the audience. He had a beard and mustache prior to the show, but shaved his beard backstage after the group dance for his talent act.

“I decided to shave my beard to enhance my character. I was posing as a French painter, so I thought it would be funny if he only had a mustache. It was very stressful to shave my beard backstage though,” Schuchardt said. “It was really dark and crowded and I didn’t have much time.”

The show began with a group dance, choreographed by seniors and Poms team members Bailey Goughenour, Madison Terry and Sophia Ferretti.

“The group dance was personally my favorite part of Mr. Longhorn. It was so fun to have everyone show off their moves, rhythm and character while putting on a show for the fans. All of those guys on stage were my friends which made it a ton of fun, and no matter what happened on and off stage or in rehearsal, we would [have made] it the best time,” senior Harry Skordos said.

After eliminating 14 other contestants, the top five were Schuchardt and seniors Michael Dolan, Luke Hakanson, Will Cremeens and Jackson Barnhart. Cremeens was awarded second place in the competition.

“I didn’t expect to place or anything, and I’m super glad my boy Schuchardt won. We’ve been great friends for a long time and it was awesome for both of us to be up there,” Cremeens said.  “Will deserved to win.”