Fernando Garcia stands triumphant as Mr. Austin 2011 at the end of the 2011 Mr. Austin Pageant Monday night. -- Trey Mewes/trey.mewes@austindailyherald.com

After a month of dance practices, costuming and bribe preparations, one Austin High School student is left standing as this year’s Mr. Austin.

AHS senior Fernando Garcia was crowned the 2011 Mr. Austin at Knowlton Auditorium Monday night after a tough, competitive Mr. Austin Pageant, beating out 13 other competitors.

“This is a really good group of guys,” said Emily Hovland, adviser to Youth Leadership, the AHS student group that annually puts on Mr. Austin.

The Mr. Austin pageant is a tradition more than a decade old in which high school boys compete in grueling challenges such as “Workout Wear,” “Date Wear” and a talent competition.

The young men had to impress five judges, which consisted of four AHS senior women and Art teacher Gary Brobeck. Contestants honored the tradition of bribing the judges during their introductions, which included candy, hugs, flowers, tree branches, balloons and an art book.

Brobeck said he was honored to judge the competition. He was skeptical, however, that the event would go off without a hitch.

“I know these young men, and they tend to be a bit immature,” Brobeck said with a smile.

The contestants dazzled the audience with dancing and choreography, as well as a little humor thrown in the mix. Popular catchphrases and funny movies were parodied, with a “Night at the Roxbury” spoof drawing laughs after a Richard Simmons-inspired workout routine, complete with ‘70s music.

The pageant took a turn for the romantic when AHS senior Scott Snyder asked his girlfriend Jenna Baker to the prom during the Date Wear segment. Baker, who was a master of ceremonies, had been prompting Snyder to ask her to this year’s prom for several weeks.

“Once I found out she was the MC, I knew it would be pretty easy to set something up,” Snyder said. “It would be really cute, and it would get me some romance points with the judges.”

Baker was flabbergasted when Snyder, answering a dating question, got help from fellow contestant Nathan Weisert, who walked onstage with a giant white teddy bear. Snyder presented the stuffed bear to Baker, asking her to the prom and drawing a large cry of “awww,” throughout the auditorium.

“He’ll go in my room,” Baker said about the teddy bear. “He’ll just sit in a nice corner along with all the other teddy bears.”

Yet it was Garcia who won the night, emerging victorious after several dance routines and a considerable amount of fashion prowess.

“I’m speechless,” said Garcia. “I thought somebody else was going to win.”

It’s a local charity that wins at the end of the competition, however. Youth Leadership holds the contest every year and donates the proceeds to a charity of their choice. Students haven’t picked a charity yet, but they all agree the event money, which Hovland estimates is much more than $1,000, will go to a local charity. In addition, those who attended the pageant could get in at a discount if they brought canned goods to donate to the local Salvation Army Food Shelf. A stack of canned goods covered a table before the event.

“You feel great you just performed for a really good cause,” said Aaron Goetz, one of the contestants.