The boys are ready for you.

Representatives from 15 student organizations took the stage at Gaston Hall on Sept. 29 to compete for the coveted title of Mr. Georgetown. The panel of judges crowned a winner after four rounds of competitions that let the contestants show off their spiritwear, talent, trivia knowledge and interview skills.

Mr. Georgetown, a staple campus event since 2005, is a pageant that gives male seniors the opportunity to represent their clubs. The annual event, which sold out in eight minutes, was hosted by the Georgetown Program Board, a student organization dedicated to planning entertainment events on campus. 

Isabel McHenry (CAS ’24) and Dane Tedder (CAS ’24) co-emceed the event, providing humorous commentary throughout the show’s acts.

“I do a lot of comedy on campus, and this felt like a perfect intersection of my interests,” McHenry told The Hoya. “I was excited to have this platform to represent my senior year and to do this with my friends, too.”

The event kicked off with a contestant-wide group dance routine choreographed by Groove Theory, Georgetown’s hip-hop dance team. The contestants — backed by songs like “Fergalicious” by Fergie, “TiK ToK” by Kesha and “Hey Mr. D.J.” by Zhané — moved, swayed and kicked through the at-times risqué routine, which was met with an uproarious audience reaction.

A performance by the Georgetown Phantoms, a campus acapella group, gave the contestants time to prepare for the spiritwear competition, executing the first of many costume changes that would take place throughout the evening.

The contestants then walked on stage to a song of their choice wearing an outfit that represented their club. Outfits included a gorilla costume, cultural flags, a founding father and a drum set.

Groove Theory performed to “Put it on Da Floor Again” by Latto during a quick intermission, leading to the second competitive showcase of the night: talent.

The talent round featured two standup routines, two original raps and plenty of creativity from the contestants. Mr. Jewish Student Association Dan Sachs (CAS ’24) taught the audience how to flirt in Hebrew, Mr. Chinese Student Alliance Jonathan Lee (SFS ’24) did a live drawing of a dragon and Mr. Alexander Hamilton Society Gershon Stein (SFS ’24) gave a satirical resume tutorial that doubled as a promo for the Georgetown Writing Center. 

Sachs said that he was overjoyed to not only compete alongside his new friends but to show off a talent that only he could do.

“I wanted to do something that was uniquely me,” Sachs told The Hoya. “I was thinking first maybe I could dance and sing to a song, but I said I don’t want to go on stage and be the worst at something. I’d rather go on stage and do something that no one else is doing, and I knew that none of the other contestants had this ability, so I designed a little lesson for everyone.”

Mr. Club Filipino Mikhail Floresca (SOH ’24) sang a bilingual rendition of Rico J. Puno’s “Magkasuyo Buong Gabi” in English and Tagalog. Similarly, Mr. International Relations Club Renato Llontop Calosi (CAS ’24) performed multiple songs in different languages, emphasizing the spirit of his club. 

“We cannot tell the actual outcome until you see the live performances,” Calosi told The Hoya. “It was great to see that everyone brought something new to the stage, and I was very impressed by many of the contestants’ abilities.”

Mr. African Society George Abalekpor (CAS ’24) performed “Careless Whisper” by George Michael with a saxophone before moving around the stage and singing. The audience happily waved their phone flashlights in response. 

Later on, Mr. Pep Band Kevin Ogeka (MSB ’24) proved his talent for multitasking by belting Adele while playing Mario Kart live on stage, where his first-place finish on the 200cc-level “Rainbow Road” course drew the loudest applause of the night.

After the first elimination, Abalekpor, Lee, Floresca, Ogeka and Mr. Lecture Fund Zan Haq (SFS ’24) advanced to the next round: trivia.

The finalists had to answer many questions during the round, ranging from the first year of the iPhone to the name of Regina George’s clique in “Mean Girls” to what on-campus building was named after the first two Jesuits to arrive in the 13 colonies. “What animal are Zhu Zhu Pets based on?” was the only question to stump all five contestants.

The finalists then answered interview questions about their lives, opening up and creating bonds with the audience and judges.

Abalekpor used his interview to talk about his family and his career plans after graduation.

“My version of changing the world is through reforming political systems,” Abalekpor said at the event. “I’ve been really passionate about legal reform since high school. I’ve been trying to find my passion through the different work that I’ve been doing.”

Floresca highlighted his Filipino heritage and how it has influenced his way of living and thinking.

“What it means to be Filipino, it means to love people,” Floresca said at the event. “It means to love people so much and think to yourself, ‘I’m so grateful to have people by my side that care and support me.’”

At the end of the night, Ogeka was crowned Mr. Georgetown by the judges, Abalekpor took home the title of Mr. Fan Favorite by audience vote and Mr. Ritmo y Sabor Diego Bigelow-Gonzalo (MSB ’24) was awarded Mr. Congeniality by his fellow contestants. 

Mr. Georgetown University College Democrats Brandon Wu (SFS ’24) said that despite having to be convinced by his friends to participate in Mr. Georgetown, he had a fulfilling and rewarding experience.

“Having the chance to produce something after weeks and weeks and weeks of practice, whether it’s your spirit wear or talent or the intro dance, it really builds that sense of camaraderie, it builds that sense of you belong on campus,” Wu told The Hoya. 

Evie Steele contributed to reporting.