Feelings of doubt flooded over junior Ryan Wainscott as he stood on stage waiting to hear who would be crowned to be the 2019 Mr. LN.

“It couldn’t be me,” he thought. “Jonah Herrmann and Gabriel Vaughn deserve this more.”

Wainscott retraced everything he had done that night: Did I answer the questions correctly? How do the judges think of how I impersonated Ariel? Did I mess up during the Napoleon Dynamite dance?

Just when Wainscott thought that he had lost it all, the judges announced that he would be the next Mr. LN.

“I was surprised that I won. You could say that I was shook,” Wainscott said.

Wainscott’s goal was never to take the crown from his fellow competitors. It was all about having fun and having the chance to tease his older brother, a former Mr. LN competitor, if he had the honor of winning.  

“When I was nominated, I thought that it’d be a fun experience to be able to compete. I also just wanted to be able to rub it in to my brother who had competed and lost,” Wainscott said.

Wainscott was in full support of the Disney Princess theme for the show. Dressing up and impersonating a princess in front of an audience turned out to be his favorite part. The chosen theme gave him the chance to represent his favorite Disney movie: “The Little Mermaid.”  

“I chose to be Ariel because ‘The Little Mermaid’ is the best Disney movie. The soundtrack is banger, and the side characters are the best,” Wainscott said.

The last portion of the show is each of the competitors’ last chance to impress the judges and audience. As far as his chosen talent of doing the Canned Heat dance from ¨Napoleon Dynamite¨, it was nothing ordinary. Many of the contestants decided to show off their public speaking, physical or comedic talents, but Wainscott wanted to be different.

¨I wanted to do something that was funny and interesting. I wanted to be out of the ordinary,¨ Wainscott said.  

Many of Wainscott’s family, friends and fellow competitors congratulated him afterwards. For Wainscott, it was a time to be recognized for his achievement from the people that cared most for him.    

“The best part of the whole show was being able to take pictures and talk after the show with everybody,” Wainscott said.    

Wainscott recognizes that his Mr. LN win puts him in a spot of responsibility until the next winner is crowned. Wainscott promises that he’s ready to represent the LN student body for the rest of the year.

“Whatever I do represents LN until the next person is crowned next year. I’m definitely confident to lead us all until then,” Wainscott said.