On Sunday, Sharon Dranko and Joshua Humm paraded around Point State Park dressed entirely in duct tape.

As temperatures rose, the Center teens -- both attired for prom -- rested in the shade underneath the portal bridge in the newly reopened park. After all, it would be awfully unfortunate if Ms. Dranko's dress, which she labored over for 140 hours, were to melt.

Ms. Dranko and Mr. Humm, both 18, are among the top 10 finalists in the Duck Brand national duct tape competition "Stuck at Prom," now in its eighth year. Sponsored by Henkel Corporation, the contest awards scholarships to couples who attend their prom in duct tape getup of their own design.

The grand prize is $6,000 for the winning couple -- $3,000 each -- and an additional $3,000 grant to their high school.

The Center Area High School couple who graduated June 6 were campaigning Sunday by passing out flyers and mugging for photographers in an effort to get out the online vote, which closes June 29.

Voters must visit www.stuckatprom.com, click on the link "vote for the winner," and click on entry 4115 beneath their photo.

Earlier this week, they were in second place, vastly ahead of most of their nine competitors but still trailing for the lead.

Ms. Dranko and Mr. Humm have become minor celebrities; she has appeared at two elementary schools to give presentations in her dress. On Friday, she traveled to Avon, Ohio, to attend the Duct Tape Festival, where her dress became so muddy she had to hose it down.

"It's waterproof, too," she said.

Waterproof or not, schlepping around in a 50-pound dress is not easy. In fact, when Ms. Dranko could not fit in her school's charter bus on prom night, she threw her dress in the back of her father's pick-up truck and drove. Unfazed, she even managed to dance in her unwieldy skirt.

"It stuck to me the whole time," she said. "I actually still have scars from peeling the tape off."

As the French and the masochistic say, "Faut souffrir pour être belle." If one can ascribe the adjective to anything made of polyethylene, then Ms. Dranko's handiwork is indeed beautiful.

Imagine endless waves of ruffles. Imagine hot pink froth contrasted with zebra stripes. Imagine if Oscar de la Renta developed a plastic fetish. The result would not be half as adoringly detailed as Ms. Dranko's creation.

The project took her three months to complete. She used 134 rolls of duct tape to create the dress alone, a fact which swiftly answers the question of why Henkel would sponsor such a contest.

The most difficult part of the process was creating the zebra stripe pattern that adorns Mr. Humm's jacket, she said. The stripes took 30 hours to make.

This fall, both students will attend Kent State University in Ohio. The scholarship money would ease their transition to college, where she will study fashion design and he will study fine arts.

In a twist no doubt heartwarming to the people at Henkel, it was duct tape that brought the couple together.

Mr. Humm transferred schools his senior year and was seated next to Ms. Dranko in class. He noticed several rolls of duct tape in her bag and his curious mind inquired. When she explained the contest to him, Mr. Humm, who also harbors an interest in fashion, offered his assistance.

And, well, the rest was duct tape history.

First Published: June 19, 2008, 8:00 a.m.