Over 500 people turned out last Friday to see senior Mike Labella be crowned Mr. Quinnipiac. The competition was sponsored by SPB and run by executive board member Danielle King.

Mr. Quinnipiac was hosted by Javier Rodriguiez and Andrea Szymone, and featured four judges and ten contestants.

The four judges were Ed Kovacs, Daniel Brown, Jen Scaia and Maria Moniello. Jason Greenwood, Denis Kisysk, Kevin Macullum, Jimmy Stewart, Labella, Jonathan Silva, Christian Shaboo, Eric Marco, Andrew Chin and Steve Gellar all took part in the competition.

Dance Company performed several routines during breaks.

In the first round, contestants were judged on formal wear, beach wear, and by their favorite pick-up lines. The beach wear stirred the crowd when Jonathan Silva, also known as Tuna, came out with a cardboard box around his waist and the word “censored” pasted on the front side as well as the back.

Junior Eric Marco came out greased with oil wearing a grass skirt and coconut bra. Other contestants wore Speedo’s and swimming trunks.

Seniors Jason Greenwood and Mike Labella, junior Eric Marco, sophomores Jimmy Stewart and Jonathan Silva moved on to round two, where they had to perform a talent.

Many of the contestants felt they had hard shoes to fill from last year’s competition when Dan Looney danced to “Dirty Dancing.” However, that did not stop Jason Greenwood, Mike Labella and Jonathan Silva from moving onto the last round.

Andrew Chin played several songs on the piano while the judges were tallying the scores. Chin was commended and thanked by the audience with a standing ovation and applause.

In the final round, each contestant was asked a question which they picked out of a hat. Their answers were the last determinant of 2003’s Mr. Quinnipiac.

When the scores were tallied Rodriguez and Szymone announced that Labella was the new Mr. Quinnipiac.

“It was a really good feeling when I won,” Labella said. “I was surprised and I wasn’t expecting it. It kind of caught me off guard because I thought that they were going to announce the runner up first.

“All of a sudden they announced me as the winner and then everything seemed to be happening so fast. I was in shock. Before I knew it was taking pictures for The Chronicle, being interviewed by Q30, and taking pictures and talking with friends.”

Labella danced a Spanish dance which he claims was his first time really dancing. He also said he had not even decided what he was going to be wearing until the night before.

“The whole competition was an awesome experience,” he said. “I thought that any of the guys in it could have won. I really didn’t expect to win. I just wanted to have fun and not embarass myself too much.”