By Tide Writers Andrew Green and Rodion Ginsberg

Throughout the school year, the Richard Montgomery SGA hosts a number of events ranging from pep rallies to school dances. But out of all of them, one is more revered than the rest: the Mr. RM competition. Like competitions of past years, the auditorium was once again packed full on Friday night as the 14th annual Mr. RM competition kicked off.

Starting at 7 and lasting throughout the night the 13 contestants displayed their talent, wit, and ability to entertain the crowd through wild competitions and various games. Donning special stage names that reflected their personalities and sense of humor, the contestants returned to the stage event after event until Judah Canizares was crowned the winner at the very end.

Unfortunately contestant Luis Orellana (nicknamed “Cash”) was unable to attend the event as he was competing 40 miles away at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro for the high school  wrestling 4A/3A state title. Orellana would go on to finish in 4th place.

The talented performances ranged from skateboarding tricks and song covers to dance routines, and even a poetry slam. Canizares sang a cover of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan, which was accompanied by choreography involving three fellow assistants. Other segments included a swimsuit competition, a group dance, and the chance to escort a special lady across the stage (moms, sisters, and girlfriends got to support their favorite contestant.)

There were some odd events here and there including two performances of “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” in which bread slice-costumed seniors rushed on stage and broke out dancing in between acts.

The evening also included a massive amount of corny pick up lines and two intricate promposals, one from Michael Silver to Winter Spray, and the other from Perry Simon to host P.J. Corr.

The night’s energy picked up as the group of contestants was narrowed into the final five, and then final two, before the winner was chosen. The top five finalists were Rachit Agarwal (Mr. Rachit Montgomery), Jack Blitz (Mr. Momma’s Boy), Perry Simon (Mr. Good Vibes), Judah Canizares (Mr. Aznteddybear), and Irie Jefferson (Mr. Poison Iry). To clinch the win, each had to answer a silly question, and a serious question. Mr. Poison Iry wowed the crowd with a spontaneous backflip when asked what his favorite dance move was, and Canizares got some audience love when describing his favorite date idea – a simple dinner, movie, and walk in the park. As the judges deliberated, people in the audience could be heard betting on the outcome, with favorites’ names being chanted out loud by some friends and supporters.

In the end, Canizares won the audience’s affection and pulled through for the win. “It feels unreal, it was like getting shot in the chest with huge dose of happiness and warmth, it’s amazing,” Canizares later said, “I think the swimsuit act was hardest for me mostly because it took me an extremely long time to figure out what I could do to make me stand out from everyone else.” Canizares plans to go to medical school and follow his dream of becoming a psychiatrist and helping communities, but he admits that he has a “wherever the wind will take me” type of attitude and is only focused on “spreading the love” instead of worrying too much about what’s next.

Blitz also took home the title of Mr. Coingeniality by raising the most money, $187.32 to be exact.

The show was hosted by P.J. Corr and Sara Van Dyke with humor and grace, as the technical crews and many RM staff ran the show from behind the scenes. There were a few slight technical difficulties with the video player at certain points in the show, but nothing that slowed the momentum of it nor hindered the audience from laughing and enjoying the festivities. “I think one of the things that people really take away from all this is that no matter who won, they were all supportive of each other at every step and there was no animosity about losing,” technical producer and supervisor Eric Rodney later said, “they would always hang out during practice and it was always fun, you know?”

Attendees of the show also contributed a large sum of money for charity. The cost for the purchase of each ticket, as well as the grand total of $844.59 raised by contestants, went to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, leading nearly everyone who went to the show to agree that it was a success. Laughter, applause, and good times Friday night led attendees to wonder just how next year’s Mr. RM competition would outdo the one so much enjoyed this year.

To view the full photo gallery, click here.