On Thursday, April 23, 2026, Sierra Vista High School hosted its 22nd annual “Mr. Mountain Lion” spectacular. The show featured 12 senior boys, each competing for the title, “Mr. Mountain Lion,” and each dedicated to raising money for the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation.
Every year, Mr. Mountain Lion supports Gwendolyn Strong, a foundation that raises money for research and assistance towards a degenerative spine disease in children called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The foundation works to build accessible playgrounds for disabled children because they believe that every child deserves to have fun and play. This year, Sierra Vista High School will receive a plaque at Gwendolyn’s Playground to honor its longstanding contributions to the foundation.
Leading up to the show on Thursday, the boys spent the week promoting ticket sales and donations. SVHS Student Body Treasurer Gabriella Frey partnered with SVHS Student Body President Hannah Reed to come up with a $3,500 goal for the event, following last year’s $3,000 total. After weeks of donations online, fun lunchtime activities, classroom walks, raffle ticket sales, and event ticket sales, this year’s Mr. Mountain Lion group raised an incredible $6,368.58. Commenting on the total, Frey reflects, “It feels kind of surreal. I knew this year we had a great group of guys and that we could break the record, but I never imagined that they could break $6,000. I am so proud of them and my team for how great they did helping organize and raise money.” Student Body 2nd Treasurer Audrey McAllister shares a similar sentiment, “The moment I found out how much money we raised, I wanted to cry. I was so proud of the entire team, and it put into perspective how good people we had in Mr. Mountain Lion. I knew we would be helping so many people with these donations.”
The lunchtime activities broke records this year, with upwards of $150 raised at each pep rally. The week began with “Slime a Senior,” where students paid $1 for a cup of slime or $5 for a bucket of slime to dump on the Mr. Mountain Lion Contestant of their choice. On Tuesday, the boys competed for the title of Mr. Betty Crocker, each showing off their personally baked and decorated cakes. On Wednesday, the boys competed in a “Kiss or Pie” pep rally where students paid $2 to pie a contestant of their choice in the face with a foil tin full of whipped cream. Finally, on Thursday, the Mr. Mountain Lion boys ended the weeklong pep rallies with a Strong Man Contest where students paid anywhere from $1 to $5 to challenge the boys in completing push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and laps around the quad. If a contestant failed or refused the Strong Man challenge, they got pied in the face.
Aside from the overall title of Mr. Mountain Lion, the boys also competed for awards corresponding to different segments of the show. The alternative titles included “Mr. Charitable” for the most money raised, “Mr. Rizz” for the most charismatic and flirtatious boy with the best pick-up line, Mr. Showstopper for the best stage presence between the talent and dance portion of the show, Mr. Fan Favorite as voted on live by the audience, Mr. Betty Crocker for the best cake from Tuesday’s pep rally as voted on the school instagram, Mr. Trim for the best catwalk & outfits throughout the show, and, last but not least, Mr. Congeniality for the contestant voted for the best to work with by all of the boys.
The show began with “Press the Button,” where interview questions decided the fate of the boys and determined which girl partner they matched best with. After finding their perfect matches, the boys then returned with their girls for walk-out style performances. Featuring songs like “Low” by Flow Rida and “Again” by Fetty Wap to TikTok audios for the popular “6…7” meme, the contestants and their partners captivated the audience with trending, coordinated, 15-30 second dances and matching outfits.
Following the walk-out performances, the boys and girls did quick outfit changes backstage before coming onstage for the Pick-Up Line segment. As the boys competed for Mr. Rizz, they each attempted to woo their girls with humor and charisma. The winner of Mr. Rizz, Ezekiel Day, charmed his partner, Savannah Boissiere, with the line, “When reflecting on his time in Mr. Mountain Lion, Day also shares, “My favorite part about participating in MML was getting to know every single one of the guys a lot better. I really enjoyed getting to hang out and be a part of a show that’s for a great cause.”
The next fun segments of the show included “Who’s Most Likely To…?” and “Family Feud,” each helping to secure one of the boys their chance at Mr. Fan Favorite. From answering questions about each other to coming up with the top 5 answers for “What gives the huzz the ick?” the boys tried their best to make the audience laugh. Ultimately, the winner of Mr. Fan Favorite, Lithilia “LT” Karunarathne, shares his favorite part of participating in Mr. Mountain Lion: “In my opinion, the best part of MML was just having fun and getting ready for the show with my fellow competitors.”
The next part of the event, the highly anticipated talent show, featured a diverse set of skilled, comedic, and heartfelt performances from the contestants. Many of the boys shared similar sentiments towards the talent show portion of Mr. Mountain Lion, expressing how much fun they had with one another. Mr. Charitable, Lee Pobre, commented, “I think that doing my talent with all my friends was the most memorable part of MML, especially because I never get to dance on stage with them. Having that one moment really made it special for me.” Pobre continued, “My favorite part of MML was definitely meeting all of the different guys and getting to hang out with them, especially during rehearsals in the theatre.” Zaire Bryant, who thrilled the audience with an elaborate Micheal Jackson tribute and dance routine, shared, “My favorite segment was the talents because I got to see everyone’s talent and what means the most to them! The inspiration behind my talent was just my creativity and wanting to show off my different styles of dancing.”
Following the talent segment, the contestants took to the stage one by one, strutting towards the audience and showing everyone their best catwalks. While some of the boys dressed up in suits, others took a more comedic approach with wigs, dresses, and crop-tops. Gabriel Sabasino, later crowned Mr. Trim, performed his catwalk in a silky red dress and an extravagant white fur coat. Sabasino reflected, “A memorable moment for me was the catwalk because I looked incredible in that dress,” and he shared that is favorite part of Mr. Mountain Lion was working with everyone and getting to talk to a bunch of people. MML was overall a great time and I am glad to have been part of it.”
To end the show, the boys and their girl partners performed the highly anticipated group dance number. After weeks of rehearsal with choreographers McKenzie Gidge (12) and Malaea Puntanilla (12), all of the MML participants got a chance to shine together as they danced to a mashup of popular songs like “COCONUT” by Eem Triplin and Sailorr, “POP DAT THANG” by DaBaby, “No Hands” by Roscoe Dash and Waka Flocka Flame, and “Get Busy” by Sean Paul. Jared Dalisay, crowned Mr. Congeniality, commented on the weeks of preparation, “My favorite part of MML was the dance practices and rehearsals because it made me make friends with everyone. MML is probably a time that I will never forget.”
After the dance, all of the boys remained on stage for the award announcements, which crowned Zaire Bryant the overall winner. From Bryant’s pick-up line to his talent, catwalk, and overall confidence, the judges unanimously crowned him the 22nd Mr. Mountain Lion. Bryant shares, “My reaction to winning Mr. Mountain Lion was bittersweet because all of my hard work had paid off, and I just felt so proud of myself. Mr Mountain Lion meant a lot to me, and it just has this title of someone who is confident, kind, and authentic to it. My favorite part about participating in MML was having fun with all of the guys at rehearsals and building bonds with each other and doing the show with my best friend, Hannah Reed.” Reed, SVHS Student Body President, commented, “After coordinating and directing Mr. Mountain Lion for the past 4 years, I can say with confidence that this group of guys has been the best to work with. All twelve of them have been the most kind, funny, and dedicated Mr. Mountain Lion boys, and I am so proud of all of their hard work. This year, they really focused on the purpose of the show as a charity fundraiser, and their financial impact on the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation will be felt for years to come. I am so glad to have worked on this project during my time in high school, and I am so excited to pass it on and watch future generations carry on this amazing Vista tradition.”
