HOT SPRINGS — Sixteen young women from across the state, including two from the Heartland Region, will compete in Hot Springs June 14-16 for thousands of dollars in scholarships and the role of Miss South Dakota.
The new Miss South Dakota will take home at least $9,000 in scholarship money and will represent South Dakota at the Miss America Pageant.
Preliminary competitions will be June 14 and 15, and finals will be held June 16. The Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen competition will be held June 14 and 15 in conjunction with the Miss South Dakota Pageant.
The pageant theme this year is “The Power in Me.” The pageant celebrates its 72nd and final year in Hot Springs, as one of the two longest-running state pageants in a single location nationwide. The pageant will be in a new home next year, and the host city will be announced at the pageant finals Saturday night.
The pageant will feature Miranda Mack of Redfield, Miss South Dakota 2017. Mack represented South Dakota at the Miss America Pageant last September in Atlantic City. She spent the year advocating for her personal platform of “Music for Life” — promoting the importance of music education in schools.
The public has a chance to choose one of the Top 8 Finalists by voting in the People’s Choice Contest. Votes cost $1 each and proceeds will provide scholarships through the Miss SD Pageant and the SD Scholarship Foundation. Vote at www.misssd.org/peoples-choice.
The contestants will be judged on a private interview with the judges (25 percent), talent (35 percent), evening gown (20 percent), on-stage question (5 percent), and swimsuit (15 percent).
Heartland Region contestants include:
• Cameron Schroder, 20, Miss Wheel Jam, Huron. Her talent is Musical Theatre, and her platform is Green Print: Simplifying the term “Going Green” and
• Carrie Wintle, 24, Miss State Fair, Iroquois. Her talent is classical rock piano and her platform is Money $heep.
Other contestants are Alexandra Smiley, 24, Kadoka; Amber Hulse, 19, Hot Springs; Annie Woodmansey, 21, Pierre; Carly Goodhart, 22, Sisseton; Chesney Garnos, 22, Presho; Evy Johnson, 23, Firesteel; Heather Egbert, 21, Vermillion; Jackie Bossman, 23, Humboldt; Kaitlin O’Neill, 21, Aberdeen; Miranda O’Bryan, 20, Martin; Rachel Black, 19, Rutland; Rachel Evangelisto, 21, Rapid City; Samantha Gervais, 21, Currie, Minn.; and Sarah Scott, 22, Forest Lake, Minn.
Showtime is 6 p.m. on June 14, 15, and 16 at the Mueller Center in Hot Springs.
The new Miss South Dakota will compete at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2018.
Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen
Eight young women from around the state will compete for the title of Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen 2018 in Hot Springs on Thursday and Friday, June 14 and 15, at 6 p.m. at the Mueller Center. The teen pageant will be held in conjunction with the Miss South Dakota Pageant.
The new titleholder will compete at the 2018 Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant which will be held in Orlando, Florida July 24-28. The Teen Pageant is open to young women ages 13-17.
The pageant will feature Elizabeth Nesland of Rapid City, the current Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen. Elizabeth represented South Dakota at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant last August.
The young women competing are AbriOnna Wetzel, 17, Rapid City; Elizabeth Hofer, 17, Bruce; Jaimye Lynn Wininger, 16, Brookings; Javonte Madsen, 14, Rapid City; Jessica Benson, 17, Rapid City; McKenzie Norton, 17, Mitchell; Payton Steffensen, 15, Yankton; and Rio Snyder, 14, Black Hawk.
The contestants will be judged on talent, private interview, evening wear, lifestyle and fitness in sportswear, scholastic achievement and on-stage question.
Pictured, from left, are Carrie Wintle and Cameron Schroder
