The first two rounds of preliminaries for the Miss America 2018 pageant have been held and winners of these rounds have been announced. Miss Louisiana, Miss Texas, Miss Utah and Miss Minnesota won the preliminary competition, USA Today reported.
The Miss America pageant holds three rounds of preliminaries in the entire contest. The third and final round was held on Friday, and the coronation night will happen on Sunday, September 10.
During the first round, the swimsuit competition was won by Miss Texas Margana Wood and the talent competition was won by Miss Utah JessiKate Riley. The second night of competition had Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti winning the swimsuit portion, while Miss Minnesota Brianna Drevlow won the talent portion.
The final round of the preliminaries was won by Miss Florida Sara Zeng for the swimwear portion, and Miss Louisiana once again for the talent portion. The latter presented her stunning ventriloquism act during the night, according to NJ.com. There are 51 contestants competing for the crown of Miss America 2018, the official website said.
Miss Louisiana
Bonacquisti, the candidate from Louisiana is clearly a front-runner and favorite to win in this year’s competition. After winning both in the swimsuit and talent preliminaries, she is set to share her advocacy and platform during the coronation night.
This particular pageant is different from the other beauty contests because of a set of women who are focusing on certain platforms. This year has several women who have a shared goal of advocating for the military and for the health care industry.
The 22-year-old representative from Louisiana has a platform to support pancreatic cancer patients after her grandmother was diagnosed with the condition. According to her profile on the pageant website, she plans to raise money and awareness to advocate for creating a treatment plan for this disease.
Coronation night
Miss America 2018 will hold its coronation night featuring a well-renowned panel of judges. The final night will have judges such as country singer Thomas Rhett, actress and author Molly Sims, award-winning singer Jordin Sparks, journalist Maria Menounos, Miss America 2014 winner Nina Davuluri, Olympic gold medalist Tara Lapinski and People magazine editor Jess Cagle.
It will be hosted by Chris Harrison and Sage Steele. The pageant will be aired on ABC from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields from Arkansas will crown her successor during the event.