Student wins annual pageant

The winners of this year's Mr. Mountain Home High School pageant pose with their senior female escorts following Friday's event. Ben Ceccarelli, center, shown here with Brytany Miller, won the yearly pageant title. Nate Groggett, right, who was escorted by Olivia Moreno, was named the pageant's first runner-up. Meanwhile, the second runner-up title was won by John Kenison, left, who attended the event with Marissa Streeter.

The former quarterback for Mountain Home High School's football team took home $500 in scholarship money while earning the title of Mr. MHHS during an award presentation Friday evening.

The high school's Business Professionals of America presented its 8th Annual Mr. MHHS Pageant title to Ben Ceccarelli -- one of nine students vying for the honor. Nate Groggett went on to earn first runner up while John Kenison finished as the second runner up.

Others competing for this year's honor included Dan "The Man" Calvert, Matt Frederick, Joey McCullough, Matthew Rueger, Josh Schneider and Christopher Smith.

Christopher Smith won the talent portion of the contest.

The motivation to participate differed among participants.

"I want to show people that even the average guy can win," said Groggett, who plans to become a physical engineer specializing in magnetism after high school.

Rueger joined the event, "to break the sterotypes of nerds and to show the world that I'm awesome." The senior remains active in the school's marching, concert and jazz bands in addition to the Business Professionals of America and the Nerdfest club.

The program serves as a key a fundraiser for the high school's Business Professionals of America club. Money raised will help defray costs for the group's upcoming competitions.

This year, 19 students with the Business Professionals of America club at the high school attended a state-level competition and are currently setting their sights on heading the national gathering in early May. In 2012, the club had two of its students qualify for the national event.

Principal Jeff Johnson considered the event one of the best he's seen over the past several years.

Club organizers consider the yearly event a "humorous, entertaining event" that gives the senior boys a chance for a scholarship while serving as successful fundraiser for the high school club.

Members of the Business Professionals of America club considered the pageant fundraiser a great success with more than $1,500 during the evening, Waggoner said. She credited the team of volunteers, local business owners and others that helped make this year's pageant possible.

The win the title, each candidate competed in seven categories that tested their physical fitness, personal attire and talent, evening wear and academics along with a question and answer session.

In the strength test, contestants cranked out push-ups and sit-ups in a set time limit followed by a freestyle performance. Calvert wowed the audience after he completed two back flips while McCullough demonstrated his martial arts skills. But in the end, Ceccarelli would go on to sweep the fitness event, earning his first award of the night.

In the talent and performance event, many of the teens showcased musical and singing abilities while others pursued other avenues. Kenison highlighted his prowess on the guitar, keyboard and drums before Groggett showcased his martial arts abilities by splitting a board with his bare feet.

But Smith would go on to win the event as he strummed on his guitar to perform a country music version of Outkast's hip hop chart topper, "Hey Ya."

The evening's festivities then shifted direction during the evening wear contest, which allowed the teens and their escorts to step out in a range of attire. While Kenison and Rueger were decked out in traditional suits, Schneider and his escort, Katie Urquidi, stepped out in 1940s-influenced attire.

But it was Calvert that walked away with top honors in this event when he stepped on stage wearing a bright red evening gown, complete with a blonde wig. In return, Calvert's escort, Emma Wenger, was "dressed to the nines" in a men's three-piece suit.

Each contestant was then put on the spot during the evening's question and answer period. Drawing random questions from a hat, the teens had just a few seconds to craft a response.

Kenison, for example, was asked what he would do if he found out that the world would end tomorrow.

His response: "I'd ask the girl that I love if she would marry me on that last day," he said. The answer gained plenty of "ahs" from those seated in the audience.

But it was Frederick that would go on to win the event for his answer to a separate question on the one thing he learned over the past week.

"I learned that winning isn't the most important thing in life," he said.

Frederick would go on to win his second award of the evening during the cake auction. His efforts helped raise a majority of the $1,014 collected during these sales. While most of the cakes sold for roughly $50 each, Ceccarelli earned the highest sum after his father paid $200 for one of the baked treats.

The academic part of last week's pageant focused heavily on the scholastic aptitude of each competitor, based on overall grade-point averages and the level of difficulty associated with their respective classes. Groggett picked up his first award of the evening by standing out amongst his peers.

As the evening drew to a close, members of the Business Professionals of America club cast their votes on who they felt met the definition of "Mr. Congeniality." Schneider would go on to earn the club's nod for that distinction.