Last Wolf Standing was held on Feb. 24. at the Hasan School of Business at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Last Wolf Standing is CSU-Pueblo’s version of Last Comic Standing as seen on NBC. There were five contestants: Jake Callaghan, Gustavo Endara, Chris Smith, Steven Herrera and Steve Titus. Each comic had a different approach with their performances, which were no-holds barred, in your face, unforgiving and at one point in time, an all out war.

Last Wolf Standing began with a freestyle round. Mathematics, computers, current events, family members and “self love” were the targets. There were a slew of curse words that would have put a sailor to shame.

Callaghan used numbers and mathematics as part of his set. A few audience members had a difficult time understanding his comedic style but several people in the crowd helped him carry on momentum into the second round.

He was quite honest with why he couldn’t win the event. He was part of the committee that put Last Wolf Standing together. He was brave enough to command the stage and have fun.

Endara had a swagger which was unparallel to any other of the contestants. As he approached the microphone stand, there was an expectation from the audience that he would have funny things to say. He delivered the punch lines and he reflected his life experiences as he poked fun at them. He joked about the way his family spoke, entertaining the crowd.

Herrera had fun with his set. He pointed out how he often gets mistaken for another race, but he kept his language clean.

Smith of Aspen, Colo. had many jokes to share, including why he moved to Pueblo. He didn’t have enough material for the allotted five minutes and was docked a few points because of it.

Titus almost caused a riot among the fellow competitors. He insulted them mentioning the fact that he had been woken by his campaign manager. Titus is running for student body president this semester. The judges of the event were not fond of his remarks either.  A few of the competitors and judges retaliated against Titus in the second round. Endara was offended and stood up for his fellow competitors.

The second round jokes were aimed at CSU-Pueblo. The dorm rooms and the cafeteria were among the topics of many jokes. The mystery meats and how uncomfortable the dorms got a win for Endara. The cost of books and the tuition were also targets. Smith went as far as to bring a Scooby Doo children’s book as a prop and how much it was.

The audience was sparse at the beginning of the show, however, throughout the showcase more bodies began trickling in. The final attendance count was around 40 people.

The judges were Rev 89’s own Neva Quintana, HSB Academic Advisor Stig Janz and a writer from the Pueblo Chieftain.

Endara won the competition, including the $300 first place prize to cap the first Last Wolf Standing competition at CSU-Pueblo.

Last Wolf Standing Comedy from CSU Pueblo Today on Vimeo.