Mr. Linganore XXL contestants smile for the camera and show their excitement to have 20 days left of school!

This year’s Mr. Linganore competition was a hit. Lots of preparation, hard work and dedication went into planning this event. The show’s co-hosts, Mr. Jeremy Brown and Mrs. Natalie Rebetsky, along with student coordinators, Adriana D’Amore and Katie Constantine, worked tirelessly to make the event possible. The competition was intense, and the scores were very close. In the end, Josh Watson took the title and was crowned this year’s winner.

Watson portrayed his larger than life character — the Fonz. Erick Stutz was runner-up as Mrs. Doubtfire. Devin Barge came in third place as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

All of the contestants enjoyed being a part of the competition.

“Mr. Linganore is something that I’m sure I will remember for the rest of my life,” said Tate. “I enjoyed getting to know a couple of other people from Linganore I would not have known otherwise. My favorite part was my talent. I really enjoyed performing it, and I feel like people enjoyed it. I will remember it always.”

Tate will be attending Hood College to major in chemistry and minor in business. He hopes to continue on to dental school at the University of Maryland. 

Erick Stutz and Garrett Johnson both enjoyed being a part of the Mop Head performance — Johnson’s talent portion of the show. Josh Watson’s favorite part of Mr. Linganore was wearing a white tuxedo.

“My favorite part of Mr. Linganore was participating in the dances. Favorite memory was doing the rhumba,” said Nathan Lippy. Lippy will be attending Frederick Community College in the fall.  He hopes to either transfer to another university in a few years to study forensic science or join the military as an intelligence officer. 

“I’m going to miss the community and my friends. Linganore always has amazing people and staff supporting the school and the students,” said Garrett Johnson. Johnson plans to attend Fredrick Community College for two years, then transfer to UMBC, to major in astronomy and physical science.

. “I’m going to miss being a part of journalism,” said Barge. “Journalism is the best class that I have ever taken at Linganore because it has helped me to develop crucial writing and researching skills. Plus, Mrs. Rebetsky has been the one teacher who I think has impacted my high school education the most. She has pushed me to become the writer that I am today and has really sprouted my love for journalism. She has been the greatest benefactor to me in high school.”

Barge is co-editor-in-chief of the Lance. He will be attending Mount St. Mary’s University in the fall to study computer and data science. 

“I’m going to miss seeing my friends every day, but I’m also going to miss Mr. Greene. He’s my bro,” said Lars Eklund. “He is a teacher I feel like I can talk to as more than just a teacher.” Eklund hasn’t officially made his decision between Purdue University or University of Maryland, but he intends to study mechanical engineering.

All of the contestants have wise words of encouragement for the underclassmen.

“Understand what’s worth stressing about. High school is hard, but don’t stress to the max over things you cannot control. Have fun and be a high school teenager. Also, don’t take fun things for granted. I thought Mr. Linganore would be full of stress but, in the end, I realized how much fun the competition really was. I encourage everyone to be a part of it,” said Erick Stutz.

Stutz will be attending Wheeling Jesuit University to study psychology and play Division 2 lacrosse.

Nathan Lippy advises younger students to “work with your teachers to make sure that you don’t fall behind in class.” 

Josh Watson said, “Don’t let fear hold you back, get involved and make memories.” Watson will be attending the University of Delaware in the fall to study chemical engineering.

Want to read more on Mr. Linganore XXL? Click here!

Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for more countdown stories in the days to come from the Lance!