48 // VARSITY April 17, 2014
A
nyone who attends the Buckinghams, the
the "Student-Athlete Annual Showcase of
Excellence," has come to expect the unex-
pected. Student-athletes who excel on the field will
surprise you with varied talents, whether it's play-
ing the piano, singing an opera or twirling a rifle. All
of those things happened Monday night at the sixth
annual event.
However, one moment stole the show and pro-
vided a great cap to an incredible evening. The final
performer of the evening was Brett Hochstaetter, a
redshirt sophomore on the wrestling team. He be-
gan his rendition of Brett Eldredge's "Mean to Me"
by saying, "This is for someone special in the crowd."
That drew a response from the 650 people in at-
tendance at the Overture Center, but not quite as
large as the one he elicited after he put his guitar
down and addressed his girlfriend, Erica, on stage.
"I'd like to, in front of my family, my brothers and
coaches on the wrestling team and all my fellow
Badgers," was how Hochstaetter started. He then
dropped to one knee and proposed. As Erica nodded
yes, the crowd erupted, collectively standing on its
feet and applauding.
It's the kind of thing that you can only see at the
Buckinghams. The night began with Vitto Brown,
an accomplished singer from the men's basketball
team, and three of his teammates performing "La,
La, Means I Love You" by the Delfonics. Other per-
formances included a salsa/samba dance by Lavinia
Jurkiewicz of women's cross country, a musical med-
ley from quarterback Joel Stave and his brother, Bry-
an (with some help from Jake Keefer) and William
Ottow from men's cross country performing "Oh Is
There Not One Maiden Breast" from Gilbert and Sul-
livan's Pirates of Penzance (it's an opera, Google it).
STUDENT-ATHLETES SHINE AT
Singing, dancing and even a marriage proposal highlight annual event
Continued on page 50
DAVID
STLUKA
