The first ever Mr. OU Pageant crown awarded

The first ever Mr. OU Pageant sponsored by the Union Programming Board took place Friday to raise awareness for Movember, men’s health awareness and men’s health charities.

The event was held at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium.

Each semester one executive member of UPB hosts an event, and this year UPB Secretary Dehra McGuire created the Mr. OU Pageant.

“I got the idea for a masculine pageant from my high school,” McGuire said. “All the students looked forward to it every year and they always packed the auditorium. So I thought if it was that popular in high school, why not bring it here to OU?”

Fourteen male contestants of all ages competed for the title in four different events including sports wear, talent, formal wear and interviews, according to the event’s Facebook page. Additionally, the audience participated in choosing the evening’s fan favorite.

The contestants included Christian Pearson, Lester Asamoah, Slayde Meyer, Jason Dydynski, David Colbert, Cameron Frysinger, Julius Ta, Nick Dalheim, Johnson Truong, Jack Hardwick , Benjamin Welch , Kyle Catchings, Evan Mooney, and David Postic.

David Postic, a business management senior who represented the Student Alumni Association, said that he wanted to be in the pageant because he’s drawn to any opportunity to get outside of his comfort zone.

“I’ve never been in a pageant before so just getting out there on stage is an accomplishment in itself,” Postic said.

Cameron Frysinger, a finance junior who represented the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, said that he entered the pageant because it sounded like fun and he had worked with student government before. If crowned Mr. OU, he said he wanted to put the prize money towards his fraternity’s philanthropy.

Chemistry sophomore Benjamin Welch, a member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Friends organization on campus, said that his friends encouraged him to participate and he saw it as an opportunity to get GLBTF’s name out there for students who didn’t already know about it. He said he didn’t think he faced any particular challenges in the pageant and that everyone was very friendly and accepting.

“I wanted to enter Mr. OU because I thought it would be a great opportunity to put my name and my fraternity’s name out there,” said University College freshman Johnson Truong, who represented the Kappa Sigma fraternity. “I did something similar in high school so I thought, ‘Why not?’ and signed up.”

The top nine contestants who advanced to the talent round were Benjamin Welch, Cameron Frysinger, Christian Pearson, David Postic, Evan Mooney, Jack Hardwick, Julius Ta, Lester Asamoah and Nick Dalheim.

The top five contestants who competed in the formal wear and interviews were Christian Pearson, David Postic, Jack Hardwick, Julius Ta and Lester Asamoah.

Jack Hardwick won fan favorite and the sportswear portion, David Postic won the interview and formal wear portions and Christian Pearson claimed the talent portion. But in the end it was David Postic who took the crown and claimed the title of Mr. OU.

“I’m feeling really good,” Postic said after winning the title. “My cheeks are sore from smiling but it was a blast.”

Postic said his favorite part of the whole experience was hanging out with and getting to know his fellow contestants.

“My first action as Mr. OU is to spread the word about the Union Programming Board around the university,” Postic said.

As the winner of the Mr. OU Pageant, Postic was awarded a $100 scholarship, a sash and a crown. Fan favorite Jack Hardwick received $50 and each category winner received $25, according to the Facebook page.

Haley Davis

Haley is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Campus Reporter.