Leadership students are preparing for the annual Mr. Annandale contest, taking place on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Students anticipate who will be taking the title from last year’s winner Jack McCrossin. As a tradition, there will be 5 categories and segments the boys will be judged on: Mr. Elegance, Mr. Muscle, Mr. Spirit, Mr. Talent and Mr. Intelligence.

Any junior or senior could participate in Mr. Annandale, as long as they were among the first people to fill out the Google form that was provided to those who were interested in the contest.

This year’s contestants are seniors Alex Bellem, Samuel Berhe, Han Gyul Chang, Idris Dahir, Matthew Dinh, Javonte Durr-Cannon, Chadwick Gore and Mauricio Ochoa.

“This is my first year participating, and I think I have as good a chance at winning as anyone else participating this year,” Han Gyul Chang said. “But I mainly just want to have fun, and I think it’ll be a good experience to add to my memories of senior year.”

“The contestants will be judged on a scale of 1 through 10 on their performances in the categories listed,” leadership teacher Jessica Arias said. “We still aren’t sure of who the judges will be, but they will be looking for preparedness, creativity, and humor. I’m excited to see what fun ideas these participants come up with.”

Leadership students are anticipating the event.

“I’m very excited to be working on Mr. Annandale this year,”  leadership student sophomore Alexis Granados said. “We make posters and take care of the decorations.We also make sure that everyone knows when to go on and that everyone is ready for the next category. I guess you could say we run the show.”

Granados also explained her knowledge of the judging process. “Each contestant will be judged in different categories based on the act they choose to do. Each category has a winner, and then at the end, the person with the overall votes will win Mr. Annandale.”

The different categories allow the senior boys to display their character and win the charm of the audience.

“The pageant is not really about beauty, but rather who does best in one specific category,” Granados said. “One example would be Mr. Spirit, the contestants would be judged on who has the best spirit, another example would be Mr. Intelligence, the contestant would be judged who has the most Knowledge and so on.”

Tickets will be sold at the door for $5 and during lunches a week prior to the event.