Cantu crowned Mr. Thunder 2016

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By C.L. Smith
Reporter
BELVIDERE – Belvidere North High School held its 8th annual Mr. Thunder Scholarship Competition on Saturday, Feb. 20, inside the PAC.
With a $500 scholarship on the line, twelve Belvidere North High School senior boys sang, danced, and joked as they vied for first place during the annual senior pageant.
The PAC was packed, with nary a vacant seat, watching the contestants as they performed stand-up comedy, interpretive dance routines, and one psychedelic video editing display that could feel at home in a Hunter S. Thompson novel.
If Mr. Thunder was a musical competition, Tanner Hudson would have received his ticket to Hollywood and swept the competition instead of finishing runner-up for the evening. Tanner performed an acoustic melody for the talent portion and brought the house down with a performance that transcended his young age.
However, Mr. Thunder was judged and chosen in various categories, including a question and answer portion, improv skills, as well as talent display.
The student who best represented each category, and chosen Mr. Thunder 2016, was Jared Cantu. Cantu will use the pageant winnings to study for a career in education or communication.
Runner-up Tanner Hudson plans on using his $250 second place scholarship towards his college of choice where he’ll study for a career in special education.
Complete Mr. Thunder contestants were: Jared Cantu, Branden Gunn, Jacob Hofstetter, Nick Hradisky, Tanner Hudson, Cedric Ignacio, James Ivens, Sam Murphy, Nick Salgado, Tommy Sisk, Jimmy Stillian, and Max Vittore.