On the night of Thursday, Jan. 14, twelve boys dressed to the nines lined the Cypress Ranch High School auditorium stage as they anxiously waited with their fingers crossed. Shiny streamers and a glittering sign rested above the boys’ heads reading the title each boy hoped to leave with that night: “Mr. Mustang.”

Each year, the Mr. Mustang pageant serves as an outlet for the boys of Cy Ranch to show off their talent, looks, and even show their feminine side. With contests for best swimwear, best talent, best formal wear and many more portions of the show, the Mr. Mustang school fundraiser always serves as a great way to raise money for the prom dance, which takes place at the end of the year.

Specifically, this show’s proceeds go to Mustangs At Night’s End Event (MANE). MANE is an organization that focuses on raising money throughout the year for the senior prom. Each year after the prom dance, an all-night lock-in is hosted by MANE. The lock-in ensures that students will have a safe, alcohol-free night to end their prom experience.

To kick off the 2016 Mr. Mustang show, the twelve contestants and each of their escorts danced their way onto stage. The room was filled with laughter and liveliness as the students smiled from ear to ear while finishing their opening dance number.

The next portion of the show rolled into swim wear, where students strutted down the runway in their creative swimsuits. Outfits ranged from students dressed as dancing sharks to being decked out in fisherman gear, fishing pole and all. However, the student that was awarded Most Creative Swimwear was senior Micheal Pham. Pham skipped down the stage with his escort, senior Dani Dinderman, while dressed in the classic 1920’s stripped bathing suits.

Quickly after swimwear, the contestants took the stage to show off their lovely talents. Whether that be a performance of a Broadway musical song or dance number from of one of Disney’s famous original movies, “High School Musical,” senior Austin Oswald wowed the crowd with his clever and quirky social media magic trick.

Lastly, to close the night, each contestant and their escort put on their best bow tie and pearls for the formal wear portion of the talent show. All tuxedos and evening gowns were provided by Al’s Formal Wear, which allowed the students to truly all be the best dressed. However, the official best dressed award was given to Mitchel Krause, who matched his classy black tux with Mustang navy blue, proving his school pride while in style.

As the night came to an end, it was time to officially crown the 2016 Mr. Mustang. The top five boys, seniors Ramiro Diaz, Mitchell Krause, Michael Pham, Cole Andrews, and Austin Oswald, answered a series of questions while awaiting the judges’ final call. Some of the boys’ answers were comical, while others took a slightly more sentimental turn as Krause warned underclassmen to “enjoy [their] time in high school with [their] friends and family because senior year goes by fast.”

Finally, the results were in. Oswald was crowned Mr. Mustang, while Andrews and Pham followed close behind.

Overall, each contestant did an amazing job. This night was filled with laughter as the community came out to support the Mr. Mustang fundraising event. Each boy agreed that one of the best parts of the show was being able to meet and work with each other. The Mr. Mustang contestants and their escorts worked diligently each day for a week to learn dance moves and practice their talents. These after school meetings and fun shenanigans that took place in the dressing room made it all worth while.