Three young men in black pants and white dress shirts leaned against the windows of the… Three young men in black pants and white dress shirts leaned against the windows of the Benedum Auditorium’s entrance, hands casually placed in their pockets.

“Upcoming rapper, Billboard charts and all,” freshman Gary Curtis said, pointing to Nick Pratt.

Pratt, also a freshman, shrugged off the compliment and said he was really just excited to see his two competitors, Curtis and freshman Ruffin Prentiss III, “do their thing.”

“May the best man win,” Pratt said with a laugh and a chummy tap on Prentiss’ shoulder.

These three men competed alongside three female students at the Black Action Society’s Mr. and Ms. Black University of Pittsburgh Pageant on Friday.

Freshman Tobi Adeboyejo was crowned queen while Prentiss was chosen as king. Pratt and sophomore Robin Miller were the runners-up with freshman Erikah Abdu and Curtis coming in third.

“We all know about the cheesy ‘we’re all winners’ saying, and we’ve all seen ‘Miss Congeniality,'” event organizer Adolph Sims said. “But I truly believe pageantry brings out a special thing in people