Mr. UK crowned at 13th annual pageant
Members of Chi Omega serenade Phi Sigma Kappa senior Trevor Nichols for Mr. UK in the Singletary Center in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday, November 8th, 2012. Photo by Logan Douglas
November 10, 2012
By Erin Grigson
There were serenades, swimwear and dancing — sort of.
Mainly, though, there were men.
It was almost a full house at Delta Zeta’s 13th annual Mr. UK Pageant on Thursday night.
Talents ranged from impressions of UK President Eli Capilouto and Celine Dion to “juggling for America.”
Fourteen fraternity men were narrowed down to one, based on their performances in the group dance with Delta Zeta girls, swimsuit competition, talent portion and formal-wear/interview round.
Mr. UK 2012, Baron Gibson, is an architecture sophomore.
Originally, Gibson attended the University of West Georgia where he was a Kappa Alpha. When he came to UK, he decided to rejoin.
“I didn’t know many people when I got to UK and I thought this would be a great way to meet new people,” Gibson said. “Participating in this competition, I didn’t know what to expect.”
Gibson danced his way through the first round, paired boots with his trunks for the second round, danced again for the talent round and sweet talked his way through the interview round to win.
Gibson’s coach, Rachel McMahan, is an integrated strategic communication senior and member of Delta Zeta.
“The coach-contestant pairings were random selection, but I’m so excited Baron won,” McMahan said. “I’ve been a coach before, but we never got this far.”
Megan Murdock, one of the four judges for the competition and a UK cheerleader, said she loved judging the pageant.
“The guys we worked with were fun and the DZ girls were fun. I just had a great time,” Murdock said.
After the competition, Gibson took pictures with everyone, sporting his new crown and a smile.
“The effort and participation everyone put in was phenomenal,” Gibson said.
Proceeds from the night will go to the Starkey Hearing Foundation.