Check out the winners for night one of the Miss Louisiana 2023 pageant in Monroe

Meredith G. White, Shreveport Times
Updated ·2 min read

The 60th annual Miss Louisiana pageant kicked off on Thursday, June 15 with the first night of preliminaries and several girls took home their first wins in talent and red carpet.

  • Evening wear alpha: Miss Union Parish Olivia Grace George-$250

  • Evening wear: Miss Natchitoches City of Lights Makenzie Scroggs-$500

  • Talent alpha: Miss University of LA Monroe Leslie Hobgood-$500

  • Talent: Miss LA Watermelon Festival Jourdan Waddell-$1,000

Waddell performed a jazz dance routine to Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" while Hobgood sang "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady.

On Night 1 of Miss Louisiana 2023 preliminaries, Miss Louisiana Watermelon Festival, Jourdan Waddell, was the talent winner with her dance to “Dangerous”. The event will continue Friday, and the pageant will be Saturday night in the W.L. Jack Howard Theatre at the Monroe Civic Center.
On Night 1 of Miss Louisiana 2023 preliminaries, Miss Louisiana Watermelon Festival, Jourdan Waddell, was the talent winner with her dance to “Dangerous”. The event will continue Friday, and the pageant will be Saturday night in the W.L. Jack Howard Theatre at the Monroe Civic Center.

There are 27 ladies vying for the Miss Louisiana 2023 crown and they've been separated into two groups - Blues and Jazz - for the competition. Like in previous years, candidates can win the talent or red carpet preliminaries.

Making a return is the Alpha awards where this year's 17 first-time contenders can win for being the best newcomer in the field during preliminary nights. They can also have the best overall score meaning two to four people can walk away with awards each night.

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Jazz Group:

  • Miss Heart of Pilot- Lake Carpenter

  • Miss South LA Bayou-Demi Martin

  • Miss Acadiana- Kyndall Smith

  • Miss Monroe- Hailei Beckwith

  • Miss Bell of the D'Arbonne- Anna Claire Lemoine

  • Miss Twin Cities- Megan Magri

  • Miss University of LA Monroe- Leslie Hobgood

  • Miss Northwestern Lady of the Bracelet Bailey Willis

  • Miss Southeastern LA University Kobi Painting

  • Miss Pelican State Enia Gardner

  • Miss New Orleans Morgan Lawrence

  • Miss Minden Jacie Brent

  • Miss LA Watermelon Festival Jourdan Waddell

  • Miss Dixie Stockshow Kelly Cole

Miss Louisiana 2023 preliminary competition kicked off in the W.L. Jack Howard Theatre at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana, on Thursday, June 15, 2023. A second evening of preliminary events is set for Friday, and the new Miss Louisiana will be chosen Saturday night.
Miss Louisiana 2023 preliminary competition kicked off in the W.L. Jack Howard Theatre at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana, on Thursday, June 15, 2023. A second evening of preliminary events is set for Friday, and the new Miss Louisiana will be chosen Saturday night.

Blues Group:

  • Miss Slidell Lily Gayle

  • Miss Spirit of Fasching Aliyah Armstrong

  • Miss LA Christian University Jocelyn Holt

  • Miss Union Parish Olivia Grace George

  • Miss Red River City Elyce Thomas

  • Miss Heart of Dixie Sadie Brown

  • Miss Natchitoches City of Lights Makenzie Scroggs

  • Miss Cane River Kiera Owens

  • Miss LA Port City Raven Moore

  • Miss LA Stockshow Sarah Catherine Laborde

  • Miss Spirit of the Red Courtney Patterson

  • Miss LA Tech University Chanley Patterson

The on-stage portion of the pageant started Thursday night at the Monroe Civic Center’s WL “Jack” Howard Theatre and will continue Friday night.

Miss Louisiana 2023 preliminary competition kicked off in the W.L. Jack Howard Theatre at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana, on Thursday, June 15, 2023. A second evening of preliminary events is set for Friday, and the new Miss Louisiana will be chosen Saturday night.
Miss Louisiana 2023 preliminary competition kicked off in the W.L. Jack Howard Theatre at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana, on Thursday, June 15, 2023. A second evening of preliminary events is set for Friday, and the new Miss Louisiana will be chosen Saturday night.

On Saturday, the pageant will be broadcast live around the state.

You can watch on these local channels:

  • Alexandria: KLAX

  • Baton Rouge: WBTR

  • Lafayette / Lake Charles: KATC-CW

  • Monroe: KNOE

  • Morgan City / Thibodaux / Houma: KWBJ

  • New Orleans: WUPL

  • Shreveport: KPXJ

Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Find out who took home awards at the first night of Miss Louisiana