Five senior boys competed to win the prestigious title of Mr. Duke Tuesday night in the auditorium. The night was very eventful, from unbelievable magic tricks to a dog escort, and the first ever tie in the history of the Mr. Duke competition.

Seniors Gio Rodriguez, Luke Ahern, Zorian Schiffman, Alex Felton, and Nick Scardon each participated in a series of categories to best determine who would be crowned Mr. Duke. However, after a long deliberation by student and teacher judges, along with the casted vote of the audience, the winners were decided: Giovanni Rodriguez and Luke Ahern shared the victory.

“It was a pretty enjoyable experience,” Ahern said. “I thought it was pretty cool to share a title this year, especially because I have never seen two Mr. Dukes.”

The competition was very action packed. The show opened with a dance to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” featuring each competitor. The crowd erupted with laughter from start to finish.

Immediately following, the formal category took place where participants were escorted by a female family member. However, Felton thought outside the box and was escorted by a dog. Rodriguez, on the other hand, took a different route and had his little sister walk him across the stage.

“Why wouldn’t I choose my sister to be my escort?” Rodriguez said. “My sister is gorgeous!”

Following the question and answer portion, the contestants each performed their special talent. A spectacular magic trick was performed by Rodriguez, a stellar guitar performance by Scardon, a fire freestyle rap by Schiffman, and even an act where the performer ate an oreo from their forehead by Ahern all took place. Although, none were as show smashing as Felton’s symbol performance. His both comedic and impressive act definitely riled the crowd up.

“I love coming out to the Mr. Duke competition,” senior Lauren Viola said. “It’s always fun to see the spirit the guys have and I love to watch them compete.”

Viola was the winner of the audience raffle where she received two post prom tickets.

After the talent competition, the five participants each competed in the final category: Duke Spirit. The contestants made their final impression on both the judges and the audience before they were to cast their votes. Competitors decked out in green, from York Peppermint Patty filled afros, to green bled guitars, in order to provoke as much York spirit as possible. Then, judges tallied up their votes, while audience members casted their opinions to an online survey.

“I got the chance to personally score the boys and have my input put into who won,” senior student judge Olivia Pechous said. “It was a really unique experience.”

The competition saw something they had never seen before: a two-way tie. Rodriguez and Ahern were to split the first place prize, one prom ticket each, while Felton, technically coming in third, scored the second place prize of two post prom tickets. The entirety of the night was very successful, audience members, judges, and contestants all seemed to have a good time.

“Having two winners is pretty rare and I think that represents Mr. Duke,” Ahern said. “It’s an interesting and rare competition, for sure, so it was good to be a part of it.”