Senior Dan Grosso named 2009 Peach King

Date: 3/16/2009

By Laura Christiansen

Staff Intern



WILBRAHAM -- Minnechaug Regional High School's annual Peach King contest took place on March 6. Dan Grosso has been chosen as the 2009 Peach King, winning $500 in scholarship money.

Grosso plans to attend Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa., in the fall.

For the mock pageant, eight boys from Minnechaug had to participate in a selection of activities.

Among the contestants were Dan Grosso, Pat Argenio, Ian Cubin, John Elmore and Taylor "TC" Courtney.

They first dressed up in formal wear and walked down the aisle while 2008's Peach Queen, Alicia Thomas, introduced them.

Preparations for the show involved regular meetings a few times a week for three weeks before the show to help the contestants prepare.

During these meetings, the boys had to learn an original dance choreographed by seniors Nicolle Brown and Crystal Lanucha.

"The dance was a little [awkward] but it was nothing compared to the show at the flag football game," Grosso said.

At the flag football game earlier this school year, junior and senior girls played football against each other while the boys dressed up as cheerleaders.

After the dance, a slide show of the boys' baby photos was presented. The photos were not judged.

They then had to dress up in the attire of what they are interested in.

"I dressed up as a lacrosse player because I've played lacrosse for eight years," Grosso said.

They had to use random objects in an improvisation act and were asked questions.

"We had a bunch of random objects, like pool noodles and huge ears. I was surprised with how well they did with the improvisation because they had no training for that. I thought they all did really well with that," Liz Heap, co-chair for Minnechaug's National Honor Society (NHS), said. The pageant was sponsored by NHS.

After the eliminations, for the first time ever, there was a three-way tie between Grosso, Courtney and Elmore.

The tie-breaker was a round of questions.

"The questions were the most fun. One of the questions I was asked was, 'Would you rather have gills or be polka dotted?' I said I would rather have gills because it would be more fun to be able to swim under water," Grosso said. His answers won him the crown.

In August, Grosso will be escorting the new Peach Queen for the class of 2010 at the annual Peach Festival.