Here are the winners for at Night 1 of Miss Louisiana preliminaries
Four young women won talent and red carpet divisions on the first of two preliminary nights of competition for the Miss Louisiana crown.
Miss Louisiana Watermelon Festival Gracie Reichman won the talent portion clogging to “Blue Suede Shoes." The award comes with a $1,000 scholarship. Miss Louisiana Tech University Sydney Gant was the Alpha talent winner with her vocal rendition of "At Last." She received a $500 scholarship.
Miss Northwestern Lady of the Bracelet Makenzie Scroggs won the red carpet portion and a $500 scholarship. Miss Minden Anna Claire Lemoine was the Alpha red carpet winner of a $250 scholarship.
Twenty-nine candidates are vying for the role. They're divided into two groups — Blues and Jazz. Jazz performed talent pieces on Thursday and will do the red carpet, on-stage interview and social impact pitch on Friday. Blues did the red carpet, on-stage interview and social impact pitch on Thursday and will perform talent on Friday.
As in previous years, candidates can win the talent or red carpet preliminaries.
This year, the 16 first-time contenders can win Alpha awards for being the best newcomer in the field during preliminary nights. That person may also have the best overall score, so two to four people can walk away with wins each evening.
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.
On Saturday, the pageant will be broadcast live around the state. (Check your local TV listings for details.)
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The show will feature Miss Louisiana 2021 Julia Claire Williams; the Miss Louisiana Band and Dancers; Miss Louisiana 2013 Jaden Leach Hubbard and local male vocalist Blake Oden; and the Fleur de Lis Princesses.
Miss Louisiana 2003 Melissa Clark Whitworth will be joined by Miss Louisiana 2007 Amanda Joseph May and Miss Louisiana 2008 Blair Abene McCurdy to emcee the show.
The new Miss Louisiana will be crowned just before 10 p.m. Saturday.
Check back with this website Sunday for her first in-depth interview.
Governor's Council Awards help local schools
Earlier in the year, the Miss Louisiana candidates partnered with the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Rudy Macklin and First Lady Donna Edwards.
On Thursday, the organization also announced five candidates who helped earn $500 in sports equipment for their partner schools.
Miss Heart of Dixie Sarah Riley Broadway had the top school with Kiroli Elementary. They took 44 million steps during physical education class.
Other winners are:
Miss North Louisiana Bayou Jacie Brent and North Webster Upper Elementary
Miss Monroe Ryia Williams and Cypress Point Elementary
Miss Lagniappe Kobi Painting and Walker Elementary
Miss Slidell Alivia Quirk ad Little Oak Middle School
Additional scholarship awards will be announced Friday.
The Miss Louisiana Organization is part of the Miss America Organization, which is the the No. 1 provider of scholarships for women in the world. The state organization will award over $60,500 in cash scholarships this year and more than $300,000 in in-kind scholarships being made available.
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Who are the Miss Louisiana contestants?
Jazz consists of:
Miss University of Louisiana Monroe Asja Jordan
Miss Slidell Alivia Quirk
Miss Spirit of Grace Lucy Bateman
Miss Pelican State Diamond Sampson
Miss Spirit of Fasching Courtney Patterson
Miss Lagniappe Kobi Painting
Miss Louisiana Watermelon Festival Gracie Reichman
Miss Southeastern Louisiana University Megan Magri
Miss Louisiana Port City Anna-Katherine Thompson
Miss Heart of Dixie Sarah Riley Broadway
Miss Natchitoches City of Lights Pearl Merry
Miss Monroe Ryia Williams
Miss Dixie Stockshow McKenzie Connelly
Miss Louisiana Tech University Sydney Gant
Miss Belle of the D’Arbonne Jourdan Waddell
Blues candidates are:
Miss Ouachita Parish Mallorie McKinney
Miss CENLA Emily Wilson
Miss Taste of the Twin Cities Audrey Bergstedt
Miss Minden Anna Claire Lemoine
Miss Cane River Raven Moore
Miss Capital City Erin Rogers
Miss Northwestern Lady of the Bracelet Makenzie Scroggs
Miss Louisiana Stockshow Madi Masters
Miss Southern Oaks Yvone Tran
Miss Heart of Pilot Rebecca Wheelis
Miss North Louisiana Bayou Jacie Brent
Miss Red River City Lily Gayle
Miss Natchitoches Parish Carmin Velasquez
Miss Spirit of the Red Grace Powell
This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Four win talent, red carpet at Night 1 of Miss Louisiana preliminaries