Two musclebound seniors strong-armed their way into first place Wednesday night to earn the titles of Mr. and Ms. Ball State.
Daniel J. Underwood and Niki Warner beat out 11 and eight competitors respectively in a competition that included various rounds of group and individual flex-offs.
The competition started as all competitors rose unexpectedly on a platform from the orchestra pit. The 20 posers were lit from underneath, casting intimidating shadows across each muscle.
The females were the first to compete. In front of a near-capacity crowd at Emens Auditorium, the women flexed all at once in judge-mandated poses and then individually.
The crowd gasped as Chickaro Martin turned his back to the crowd and stripped off his bikini. But the gasping turned into laughter once everyone saw a yellow bikini underneath. Martin was named winner of the medium class and runner up for the Mr. Ball State title. He said he worried about his small legs but had an advantage everywhere else. "With the smaller class I was a little more cut and a little more lean," Martin said. "Everything worked out for the best." The tall class flexed last. Evan Caffee, by far the biggest in the group, was an intimidating figure onstage. But he could not beat the chiseled muscles of Underwood. Underwood credits his success to "The Arnold Schwarzenegger Encyclopedia of Modern Body Building," a book given to him by a friend. Martin and Underwood, who have been friends since their freshman year and train together, agreed they were going to take a break from their strict diet and celebrate for a night. "We're going to Greek's to get pizza," Underwood said. "Meat lovers for sure." Warner, who has been lifting for eight years, said she also plans to eating pizza and drinking some beer. Attendee Mark Ballard said he was surprised at the turnout and amazed by the bodies on stage. "It's kind of an adrenaline rush seeing all the people," he said. "It's a lot better turnout than I thought it would be."
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