Photo by Steve Ognibene
Probably the best Mr. Batavia in its 11th year history.
That’s how contestant Harry Southall described this year’s contest, which featured 13 young men on stage Friday evening at Batavia High School. After Southall came in as first runner-up, he was elated to have been part of such a team effort even though each individual was competing for the number one spot.
“I mean, it was just electric,” Southall said. “We all did amazing. I knew it was gonna be close, all of us did really good. But I was really excited. When I heard my name, it was an awesome feeling.”
He spoke about the backstage bond that he and the dozen others forged, including Mr. Batavia himself, Elijah Abdella. The contest appeared to be “a complete toss-up” until that very moment when his name was called, Abdella said.
“I was very surprised. Every single person in Mr. Batavia this year did phenomenally,” Abdella said. “It definitely had a lot of ups and downs. In the beginning, I was actually very confident. And then in the week going into the show, I was very nervous because some parts of my lip sync and my talent just weren't working properly, and I was very stressed. But I'm very glad that they they worked during the show.
“There's so many guys in here that I just would not have ever spoken to if we didn't do Mr. Batavia together,” he said. “And there are so many connections that we've made by doing this that will last a very long time.”
Southall agreed that he would likely remain friends with the entire group “for years to come.”
The 11th annual Mr. Batavia packed in a big crowd for another well-attended, exciting competition, event Chairwoman Lisa Robinson said. This year's competition surpassed the fundraising total of $5,000, bringing the 11-year total to more than $42,000, Robinson said.
The 13 contestants competed in various categories from talent and lip sync to dance, swimsuit and tux. Each one represented a different charity, and the first place winner, Elijah Abdella, will receive 50 percent of the proceeds to donate to his selected charity, Genesee Cancer Assistance.
Brian Calderon, who said he was feeling nervous in the week leading up to Friday, came in second runner-up.
“I was pacing back and forth backstage, but after getting it done, it feels like such an accomplishment to me and just a big, big obstacle to overcome in my high school career,” Calderon said. “Some of these guys, I haven't really known that well beforehand, but now I've known them like they're my friends for five years. We've all gotten close as a group and it's been really a joy.”
Southall and Calderon will each receive 25 percent of the proceeds for their charities, the Batavia VA and Suicide Prevention of Genesee County, respectively.
Other contestants and their charities were:
- Ryan Cox – Habitat for Humanity and Uconnect Care
- Owen Halpin – The Michael Napoleone Foundation
- Orion Lama – The American Heart Association, Buffalo
- Eli Michalak – The Ricky Palermo Foundation
- Ryan Plath – The Batavia City Schools Foundation
- Parris Price – The Salvation Army
- Emmanual Richardson – Go Art!
- Patrick Suozzi – The Red Cross
- Brock Warren – Crossroads House
- Peyton Woeller – Genesee County Mental Health
Judges were Trevor Sherwood, Quentin Branciforte, Cameron Hardy, Dominick Brown and Carly Morgan.
Steve Ognibene contributed to this article.
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Photos by Steve Ognibene
Photo by Steve Ognibene
