Mr. Penguin Event a success at Dominican University of California

SAN RAFAEL, CA - Angelico Hall has been host to notable events over the years, including the 2010 California Governor's Debate and lectures by luminaries such as Madeleine Albright and Al Gore.

On Saturday night, the stage was set for the 2011 Mr. Penguin event, the second annual not-so-serious male beauty pageant that pit twelve Dominican students in a show of spirit, swimsuit contest, talent competition, and tuxedeo modeling, capped by a question and answer session.

The event was a joint venture by Associated Students for Dominican University of California (ASDU), the Penguin Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (PSAAC), and the Dominican Spirit Club. Proceeds from the event's ticket sales and after party dance amounted to over $1,800 and are going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The night opened with a dance by the twelve competitors, which included six student-athletes. ASDU president and basketball player Mark Lewis introduced the crowd to the judges and then brought out each of the night's participants onto the stage for the swimsuit portion of the competition.

Senior biology major Shahdad Saeedi and sophomore nursing major Gerard Cabarse, who sported a half-zipped wetsuit, garnered plenty of whistles and screams from the crowd.

Junior communications major Hugo Centeno made a daring move to catch the judges' attention when he showered the audience with a squirt gun.

As the opening talent act, freshman Curtis Thomas got the crowd singing along with his acoustic cover of Coldplay's The Scientist.

Senior cross country runner Daniel Tapia-Jimenez had the crowd nodding along with an acoustic guitar solo of his own and freshman communications major Patrick Cayabyab, who can often be heard doing play-by-play and color comentary on http://radio.dominican.edu, performed an R&B song.

Lacrosse player Emmett Faricy explained what it means to be a "bro" — hint: you'll need a sleveless shirt and sunglasses. Junior soccer player Rafael Garcia was joined onstage by Darryl Morris and the two put the crowd in stitches with their irreverant take on Black Swan.

Fellow soccer players Ryan Vella and Casey Gibson teamed up to demonstrate the latest European dance moves and basketball player Connor Haysbert demonstrated how to battle with a lightsaber when teammate Brendan Holmes made a surprise appearance dressed in a black hood.

The clear favorite of the talent portion though was freshman religion major Tyler Birss' spoken word rap, which received a standing ovation.

After the contestants modeled tuxedoes and answered questions from the judges, and with suspense building, Dominican Director of Athletics Terry Tumey finally opened the envelope to reveal the night's winners.

Garcia was named second-runner up and Centeno was named the first-runner up. Thomas, a LINES Ballet dance student, was clearly the fan favorite and the judges agreed.

Curtis inherits the Mr. Penguin crown from senior basketball player and PSAAC President Mike Wells, who served as one of the judges for this year's event.