Mesa couple reaches top 10 in duct-tape design contest
Jul 2, 2012, 7:01 AM | Updated: 9:42 am
MESA, Ariz. — Two former high school students have made it to the
top 10 in a national contest and it’s all because of the outfits they wore
on prom night.
Cole Sudduth and Lara Ford both recently graduated from Desert
Ridge High School. At prom time, Sudduth convinced his date, Ford, that they should dress in duct tape.
“We went with the color purple,” said Sudduth. “We thought it would be
romantic. We wanted it to be something most people would wear,
and we wanted it to relate to everybody.”
Sudduth heard about a national ‘duct-
tape stuck at prom’ contest and pitched the idea to Ford. Over 200 couples have entered
nationwide.
The winning couple will earn $5,000 apiece in scholarship money, and $5,000 for their school. Online voting ends July 11.
Ford said their outfits got quite a reaction prom night. “I’m not
sure everybody believed us at first,” she said.
“They were
supportive, though, and they were all for it. Once we actually made
it to the prom, and they saw us in it and saw what we had made,
their jaws dropped and they loved every minute.”
Sudduth and Ford are planning to start in Junior college this year, with Cole
attending Chandler-Gilbert Community College, while Ford will go to
Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher.
Ford said being top 10 isn’t good enough.
“From the beginning, we were planning on winning,” Ford said.