Stephan Bosnjak, junior, won the 14th Annual Pun Contest on Thursday, Jan. 25, during Ac Lab. This was Bosnjak’s first time competing in the competition. 

“I’m feeling ecstatic, electric, every word that starts with E,” Bosnjak said after the contest. 

There were eight contestants this year. Bosnjak, along with Teju Sundaresan, sophomore; Ankush Vasireddy, senior; and Joshua Li, senior, made it to the finals. Jason Zhao, senior, won Best Pun with “Don’t hate the playa, hate the game” during the beach spring break trip prompt.

Bosnjak said the competition was tough, but he had a winner’s mentality that carried him through. 

“It’s all about volume,” Bosnjak said. “You just throw something out there, and you might get one judge on your side. That’s the key.”

Although winning was the highlight of the competition for him, Bosnjak said he did it all for the audience. 

“I love the cheers,” Bosnjak said. “I love hearing my friends in the crowd cheering me on. That’s what really got me through this competition.” 

Scott Szevery, social studies teacher, founded the Pun Contest in 2009 with Freshman Principal Dr. Rick Regina and Micheal Ebert, language arts teacher. Szevery said the contest came about because of the punny responses between the staff on emails.

“It was just us being young and fun and trying to amuse ourselves,” Szevery said.

The teachers involved students, and the contest has been an MHS tradition ever since. Over the last 13 pun contests, Szevery said he has always enjoyed the style and energy the students bring to the competition. 

“Anybody can recite a joke,” Szevery said. “It’s the way you tell it that matters.”

Szevery said the audience is also a major part of the contest. The audience will cheer or groan for each pun, and the judges often base their decisions on audience reaction. 

“I just love seeing these kids take a chance on being a contestant and then feeling the warmth of the audience,” Szevery said. 

Zhao has participated in the contest since his sophomore year and agrees that the audience is a key part of the contest.

“The audience always makes the puns a lot better, especially when they’re bad,” Zhao said.

 Zhao signed up for the contest with his friends, which he said made the competition more friendly and supportive. 

“We always compete together, so I think it’s a pretty fun environment,” Zhao said.