Of all the events at Park City High School, Mr. Miner is one of the most popular. The annual mock pageant put on by Park City High School’s Dance Company brings students and families together to support chosen high school senior boys in the last hoorah of their senior year. The theme of this year’s show was “Men of My Dreams”, with 10 PCHS senior boys performing as their favorite characters, living up to the title.

If you happened to miss the Mr. Miner pageant this year… here is what happened. The night started off with excitement buzzing in the audience as the boys were introduced in character. The contestants performed their talents making the crowd go wild with laughs and giggles.

The first contestant, Max Strong, rode the wave into girl’s hearts as John John Florence, the winner of the men’s 2017 World Surf League. For his talent, he went tarp surfing, staying true to his surfer boy persona!

Jack Jorgensen, flew on stage just as he flies into all of our dreams as Superman. Jack wowed the crowd singing Ladies’ Choice from the classic Hairspray. His performance was energetic and and he amazed the crowd with his vocals! Jack even shared his go to pick up line, “Are you a campfire? Cause you’re hot and I want s’more.” That’s so romantic Jack!

Billy Honey flaunted the confidence of the demigod Maui, hero to all, from Moana. He sang Your Welcome from the Disney musical and rode off in style in a canoe with blow up sea creatures dancing in the background. He almost fell off the canoe but recovered with grace and beauty.

Zane Schemmer drove the audience mad as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. He performed a piece of his own during the talent portion. With the help of Kali Peers he told a story of love and heartache. In the end he blew everyone away with his eccentric rap as Z-easy. You go Zane!

The audience could really “feel the burn” as Adam Hickey strutted onto the stage as 2016 Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.  He captivated the audience with a tear jerking acapella anti-war song. The spotlight illuminated him and his melody floated out into the audience. When asked what his #mcm was, he cracked a communism joke, answering the question with “Presuming that means ‘Marxist communism’s magnificent?’, the answer is yes. Ha, communism joke” I wish I could say I was surprised.

Mr. Worldwide kept it local as Bennett Barbosa stunned the crowd as Pitbull. He rapped in spanish to a few of Pitbull’s songs and Havana by Camila Cabello and graced the audience with his amazing tango skills.

Ryan Moran was not a goblin for Mr. Miner. He picked away at the audience’s hearts with his diamond pickaxe as Minecraft boy. His magic show left the audience confused but impressed. He will never reveal his secrets to keep the mystery intact.

Charlie Black was a sk8er boy, the audience said see ya later boy when he came to the stage as American professional skateboarder Ryan Sheckler. He sang Stacy’s Mom by Fountains Of Wayne. His hilarious performance got the crowd singing along. Charlie believed that Mr. Miner was truly a good way to sum up his senior year, and added “Rest easy O’Connor.” Everyone agrees with you Charlie, you’re not alone.

Calder Mceneany defected from his fellow minions on their mission to steal the moon, instead stealing the hearts of the audience at Mr. Miner. He danced the night away with his incredible hip hop freestyle routine.

After his appearance at the Super Bowl, Chase Preston brought “sexy back” as Justin Timberlake. Chase kept the trends alive as he danced to popular songs that got the crowd screaming and singing along.

There was a 10 minute intermission where the audience voted for their favorite Mr. Miner contestant. After the intermission, the MCs, Mr. Pots and Mr. Elliot, graced us with their cheesy humor and jokes while the boys strutted across the stage and were asked the toughest questions of the night.

Finally, it was time for the award ceremony. The contestants came on stage and the winners were announced. There was a message from last year’s Mr. Miner, Bryan Croce, and a surprise guest: Bob O’Connor. A great honor was bestowed upon the winner as Bob O’Connor crowned the 2018 Mr. Miner.

Just as everybody thought the show was coming to an end, Mrs. Mott announced an honorary award “for the real Mr Miner”, Mr. O’Connor. There were wet eyes in the audience for sure.

And the results are…Zane Schemmer as Mr. Miner and audience’s choice! Calder Mceneany as Runner Up! Max Strong as Mr. Congeniality (voted for by dance company, Ms. Mott, and boys). And even though he didn’t win anything Jack Jorgensen was nominated in all three categories.

Zane Schemmer, the official Mr. Miner of 2018, was feeling great after the show. His strategy of just having fun and going with the flow really paid off when he walked off stage with two sashes across his chest.

Zane did not expect to win, claiming from the beginning Calder, his runner up, would be his biggest competition, “but I knew I had a shot if I was confident and just did everything to the best of my ability, even if I was unsure at first.”

Zane shared that his favorite experience of the whole process was “getting to know a lot of people better and on a deeper level than I would have without the show.” He left the show with a smile and gratitude for his parents, the dance girls, and everyone who came to support him and the rest of the candidates.

Potential Mr. Miner candidates of 2019, if you are reading this, here is your advice from the 2018 Mr. Miner Zane Schemmer: “Go all out and have fun. Don’t worry what other people think.”

Zane shares how the excitement and nerves he felt before the show disappeared when he stepped on stage after telling himself this same thing. He added, sarcastically, that if something does go wrong, “there are only three months left of high school so it won’t be too hard to hide.”

Overall, this year’s Mr. Miner was a success. A big thanks to Dance Company and Mrs. Mott for putting it on! Without them this event wouldn’t have been possible. The talent was through the roof, the crowd threw out their best heckles yet, and all of the contestants were looking sharp in their suits. We can’t wait for more to come!