UPDATE, Oct. 23: During half-time of the homecoming game, student leadership announced the princess of each class: Annaleah Madison for the freshmen, Maddie Yee for the sophomores, Allison Camden for the juniors and Cassidy Hutchins for the seniors.

For the first event of homecoming week, princess candidates engaged in friendly competitions to win votes from their peers. The 2010 princess pageant was held in the FC Gym, Oct. 19.

As students filed onto the bleachers during chapel period, the three princess candidates from each class prepared for the impending challenges. Emcees Tim DeGroot, ’11, and Austin Rurik, ’12, introduced the nominees and initiated the first competition.

The candidates had to dig through a plate of pudding to uncover the letter written on the plate’s surface, using only their faces. The nominees performed this feat on a table before the audience.

“My favorite part of the pageant was sticking my face in chocolate with everyone else,” Morgan Childs, junior princess nominee, said. “It was kind of fun and really weird. I’m glad I did it.”

After the pudding challenge, the potential princesses submitted to the “iron gut” competition.

Students from the audience selected four ingredients to be placed in a blender. These components, ranging from cranberry juice to sardines, were then combined to create unpalatable drinks for the candidates. Each class of candidates had to consume a unique concoction.

“The drink tasted horrible, and I didn?t even swallow it,” Ileana See, freshman princess nominee, said. “I drank the one with olives, onions, Italian soda and Nutella. It was gross, but it was still fun.”

While several other candidates were spitting up or vomiting, sophomore Maddie Yee managed to keep down her entire portion.

“I think this year’s princess pageant was way more disgusting than last year’s,” Yee said. “Even though I ate sardines last year, they were a lot worse when blended with other ingredients. The mix of the flavors was quite interesting.”

Following this challenge, the candidates cleaned off, and the pageant concluded.

Although he admitted that there were some organizational hiccups in the beginning, DeGroot said the pageant went well.

“I think it turned out good,” DeGroot said. “Seeing as all the princesses puked right away, that’s always a plus. That’s what we want to see, because it gets the crowd excited.”

As a four-year spectator, senior Jacob Balderas noted the similarity among pageants, he said.

“The princess pageant is always the same,” Balderas said. “Every year the girls have to drink something weird. They eat bad food, and that’s about it. It feels like I’m watching old episodes of ‘Fear Factor’ every time.”

After completing the princess pageant, See looks forward to homecoming night on Oct. 26.

“I?m excited for homecoming, and I think this [pageant] is a great way to get votes,” See said. “I wish the other princesses the best [of luck].”

The next event of homecoming week will be the queen pageant, Oct. 21. For more information, read the Oct. 15 article, Homecoming week schedule, 2010.

Nick Avery, Brady Lee, Elise Porter and Danielle St. Marie also contributed to this article.

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