The second annual Mr. Hawthorne competition was held on March 7, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hawthorne High School (HHS) auditorium. The new title holder is junior Justin Charles.

For the opening act, the ten contestants came running down the aisles to Psy’s popular song, “Gangnam Style.” On stage, the boys showed off their dance moves in a choreographed dance number.

The senior contestants were Ricky Grofsick, Juan Guido, Ryan Gordon, Edward Davies, Nick Adesso, and last year’s winner, Chris Altemus. The junior contestants were Dustin Scully, Kevin McKeown, Alex Guarnieri, and Justin Charles.

The judges this year were Marisa Margarucci, an Italian teacher; Jaclyn Peene and Allyson Gerdes, physical education teachers; Kelly Clifford, an English teacher; and Cheryl Smith, a math teacher.

When the opening act was over, the talent round began. Ricky Grofsick, Ryan Gordon, Chris Altemus, Alex Guarnieri, Justin Charles, and Edward Davies all demonstrated their musical talents. Grofsick reenacted the famous scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when Matthew Broderick sang “Twist and Shout.” Gordon sang Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” Altemus sang Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You,” and even hit all the high notes. Guarnieri began his act by playing and singing the first verse of FUN.’s hit “We Are Young” and then for the rest of the song, he jumped on stage, and did a rap to the instrumental version of the song. Charles rapped to the instrumental of “Nuthin’ But a G thang” by Dr. Dre with the help of his hype man, Brian Sommers, a senior at HHS. Davies sang Weird Al Yankovic’s parody “White and Nerdy.” There were also some non- musical talents. Nick Adesso showed off his lacrosse skills. Juan Guido, with the help of his mother, showed the “Evolution of Mom Dancing” from Jimmy Fallon’s late night show. Dustin Scully did a standup comedy act featuring teachers in the school, and Kevin Mckeown did a comical ventriloquist act with his twin brother, Jason, as his dummy.

After the talent round was complete, the boys strutted down the catwalk in their evening wear. Each of the ten contestants wore creative and entertaining outfits. When the fashion round was complete, the judges had to pick only five contestants to proceed to the interview round.

The judges decided to send Chris Altemus, Dustin Scully, Kevin McKeown, Alex Guarnieri, and Justin Charles to the final round. After each contestant was asked a single question, the judges had to make their final decision.

After a few moments of deliberation, the winner was announced, and Justin Charles was crowned the 2013 Mr. Hawthorne.

The event was a big success and raised a lot of money for Student Council. “I didn’t know it was possible, but it was even more entertaining than last year,” says Hayley Dougan, senior at HHS.