Polcyn wins first Mr. Saratoga

Senior Addison Polcyn said he was not planning to sign up for Mr. Saratoga at first, but decided to go with it after his friends went ahead and entered him in the first-ever event. 

“I feel a little like a celebrity,” said Polcyn a couple of days after winning. “I feel like Brad Pitt.”

Polcyn said he planned most of his acts the day before, but he planned his talent show portion with senior Joey Medeiros a week in advance. Polcyn appeared shirtless and squirted sunscreen all over his chest as he catwalked in front of the judges, who were guidance counselor Eileen Allen and campus supervisor Jeanine Sevilla. Though many contestants appeared shirtless, they did not get in trouble. Polcyn and Medeiros danced to “Apache” by the Sugarhill Gang. For Formal Wear, Polcyn was the only contestant to walk in a white suit.

“I’ve always wanted to wear a white tux and it was free, [so] I was like why not,” said Polcyn.

The Mr. Saratoga pageant was hosted by senior class officers as a class fundraiser.

“It was a success!” senior class president Josh Pi said. “The contest was super entertaining and we raised about $2,000.”

Senior Jordan Vogel won the Talent category, and senior Tejas Siripurapu won Mr. Congeniality.

In the first event, Beach Wear, memorable appearances included senior Samir Ingle, who dressed up as a lifeguard, and senior Jason Tsai, who frightened the judges by wearing only a Speedo. To conclude the Beach Wear section, principal Paul Robinson made a special appearance; he wore khakis, a Hawaiian shirt and a few leis.

For the next event, Talent, there were also some special appearances. Sophomore contestants Kian Ghelichkhani and  Nolan Chao danced to “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys sung by sophomores Kerem Celik and Ricky Holt.

Talent winner Vogel played “Riptide” by Vance Joy on the ukulele and featured Saratoga Idol winner senior Nadia Younes. Siripurapu was one of the most unusual performers; he read “All Gold Everything” by Trinidad James. Sophomore Nathan Ching wowed the crowd with his magic show.

For the last event, contestants had to answer questions from the emcees, attendance secretary Mandy Armes and choir teacher Andrew Ford. Medeiros, Polcyn, Ching and senior Jonathan Huie were asked to give their best pickup line and sophomore McKenna Seagraves was chosen from the crowd to judge the answers. Medeiros’s pickup line, “Are you tired? Because you’ve been running through my mind,” won.

In the end, the senior class officers agreed that Mr. Saratoga was a successful event.

“I hope Mr. Saratoga continues as an annual event, and as part of the class of 2015’s legacy here at SHS,” Pi said.